Be careful not to go entirely by what the New York Times says. There is a huge incentive for the media to present the economy as a basket case, and I think we all know why.

For example, holiday sales increased over last year's, but since they didn't increase by as much as people had hoped (1.5 percent over the previous years 2.3 percent), all the headlines yelled about the horrible holiday shopping season.

Kind of like government spending. An increase that isn't as big as you hoped is a "cut."

Interest rates are low, inflation is almost nonexistent, and most of our current economic troubles are emotional rather than based in hard numbers. While 6 percent unemployment isn't great, looked at over the past 20 years it ain't that bad either.

Remember, it's against the rules to print good news while Bush is President.