PAUL KRUGMAN
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Dems Will Regret Not Being Bolder on Economy
Voter backlash is about failure to lower unemployment
By Rob Quinn
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Posted Nov 6, 09 6:48 AM CST
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(Newser)
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Paul Krugman doesn't buy the GOP conclusion that voters Tuesday rejected the Obama agenda. The election just showed that American voters are worried about their jobs, he writes, and this time next year, with unemployment still high, Democrats will likely regret not having been bolder on the economy when they had the chance. "Voters across America are in a bad mood, largely because of the still-grim economic situation. And when voters are feeling bad, they turn on whomever currently holds office."
The Obama administration—much like the the American commander at the WWII battle of Anzio, who failed to use his advantage when he secured a beachhead—hasn't been bold enough, Krugman writes in the New York Times. The stimulus package was enough to save the economy from disaster, but not enough to bring unemployment down. Health care won't be President Obama's Waterloo as Republicans claim it will, Krugman concludes, but economic policy may well be his Anzio.