Boom

So much for touting the booming economy in the State of the Union address. What "success" is Bush going to tout now -- Iraq?

The American economy grew at its slowest pace in three years in the fourth quarter, the government reported today, as spending by consumers and the federal government weakened significantly.

The nation's gross domestic product, the broadest measure of domestically produced goods and services, increased at a 1.1 percent annual rate in the quarter, to $11.23 trillion, and the economy posted a 3.5 percent growth rate for the full year, the Commerce Department reported. This is the first of three estimates that the government releases and the revisions it makes can be significant.

Economists had expected growth to slow to 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter because sales of automobiles and other goods were known to have fallen significantly from earlier in the year. The economy grew at a 4.1 percent annual pace in the third quarter, 3.3 percent in the second and 3.8 percent in the first three months of last year.

The last time the economy grew at a slower pace was during the fourth quarter of 2002, when it posted a 0.2 percent gain because businesses and consumers still lacked a confidence in the recovery from the slowdown during 2000 and 2001.

What am I thinking? Since when does Bush let reality interfere with the content of the SOTU? So get ready to hear all about how great the economy is doing. Unless, of course, you'll be working during the speech at that second job you had to get because your first job's pay hasn't kept pace with inflation for years.