"The cult of experts has acolytes in all ideological camps, but its most institutionalized following is on the left. The left needs to believe in the authority of experts because without that authority, almost no economic intervention can be justified. If you concede that you have no idea whether your remedy will work, it's going to be hard to sell it to the patient. Market-based ideologies don't have that problem because markets expect events in ways experts never can. 

"No president since Woodrow Wilson or Franklin Roosevelt has been more enamored with the cult of expertise than Obama. That none of his economic predictions have panned out is not surprising. What is surprising is that so many people are surprised."

"... Republican politicians are often accused of using religious 'code words' and 'dog whistles,' for instance, when all they’re doing is employing the everyday language of an America that’s more biblically literate than the national press corps. Likewise, what often gets described as religious-right 'infiltration' of government usually just amounts to conservative Christians’ using the normal mechanisms of democratic politics to oust politicians whom they disagree with, or to fight back against laws that they don’t like."

"In a way, the monthly unemployment report and quarterly economic data are like Charlie Brown trying to kick the football. Each month, the administration and its faithful await the new data with optimism and eager anticipation, certain that this will be the month that the long-awaited national hiring spree begins. Each month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics snatches away the football — and after 30 months, many who watch the economy professionally still can’t see it coming."

"A closer look at today's striking Gallup poll showing Texas Gov. Rick Perry rocketing to the top of the 2012 Republican presidential field captures the threat his campaign could pose to Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who had previously been considered the front-runner. 

"The Gallup results show Perry displaying broad reach across the party, with appeal that, for now at least, transcends lines of income and education. Those results underscore Perry's potential, as a staunch social conservative with a strong economic story in Texas, to build a primary coalition that bridges the divide between upscale, managerial Republicans and the party's more populist and evangelical blue-collar wing. ... 

"It may not last as he engages more sharply with the other contenders, but Perry's ability in this survey to outpoll both Bachmann among the devout and Romney among the well-educated shows the Texas governor's opportunity to build a broader coalition than either of his principal rivals."

"If Obama's fall campaign to tackle the jobs crisis sounds familiar, that's because it is. This President has talked about jobs more than 200 times since taking office. He signed an $820 billion stimulus package to buy (mostly public sector) jobs, followed by an $18 billion jobs package lumping construction funds with hiring incentives for small business. We watched the Paul Volcker-led Economic Recovery Advisory Board of 2009 disappear, replaced by the much-hyped Council on Jobs and Competitiveness of 2011, chaired by GE's Jeffrey Immelt. 

"There's not much to show for all that. In the 26 months after the nation's unemployment rate first breached 9%, it slid back under only twice. Long-term joblessness is especially sinister: Minneapolis Fed chief Narayana Kocherlakota says it is unprecedented in post-World War II U.S. history to have this portion of the population unemployed for more than a year. Meanwhile a quiet cultural crisis brews as one out of five American men stop collecting paychecks -- getting by instead on unemployment or disability checks, the incomes of friends and family, and in some cases illicit activity."

"In 2008 voters elected Obama to fix the economy, and he spent much of his time on Obamacare. In 2010 they elected Republicans to fix the economy, and they spent much of their time on the deficit. Will any candidate in 2012 address their concerns?"

"The endgame in Libya appears near, according to Western intelligence sources, who say that Moammar Gaddafi’s family has been moving money and other assets outside the country over the past five days in anticipation of the regime’s collapse. According to these sources, Gaddafi has left Tripoli but is still in the country. ... 

"It’s unclear what Gaddafi’s moves will be in the coming days, as his regime cracks. Some weeks ago, an intermediary suggested that he wanted internal exile in the Libyan desert. But that option may be vanishing, as Gaddafi loses his hold on Tripoli and his bargaining leverage."

"A troubled nation wonders: How did we get mired in 9.1 percent unemployment, 0.9 percent growth and an economic outlook so bad that the Federal Reserve pledges to keep interest rates at zero through mid-2013 — an admission that it sees little hope on the horizon? 

"Bad luck, explains our president. Out of nowhere came Japan and its supply-chain disruptions, Europe and its debt problems, the Arab Spring and those oil spikes. Kicked off, presumably, by various acts of God (should He not be held accountable too?): earthquake and tsunami. (Tomorrow: pestilence and famine. Maybe frogs.)"

"With 16 months -- at least -- left in the Obama presidency, the law of diminishing returns has kicked in hard. The president’s approval rating stands at 39 percent in one major poll, and even the Congressional Black Caucus is starting to bail on him. 'We’re supportive of the president, but we’re getting tired,' Rep. Maxine Waters told a Detroit audience Tuesday.  

"Obama’s slide may be good political news for conservatives, but it’s extremely bad for the country. 

"Realistically, the economy won’t materially improve over the next year or so, no matter how many bus rides Obama takes. Unemployment will likely remain well over 8 percent, and the debt-ceiling deal will do little or nothing to solve our economic woes. It’s going to take the next election before we can begin to start repairing the damage."

"The Obama administration is finally going to focus on jobs -- again. Jobs, jobs, jobs. And nothing says jobs like food stamps, unemployment insurance and a shiny new federal department of ... yes, jobs! 

"Some of you may find President Barack Obama's three-day campaign bus tour through Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois a considerable downer. Not that it's the president's fault. If it weren't for Japanese earthquakes, unpatriotic Republicans, Arab springs, European welfare states collapsing, market fluctuations, Lady Luck's being a complete witch -- you know, existence -- this mess could have been squared away months ago."