David Price: “I rise today in some puzzlement. The President came to my part of our State last week and announced, ``The economy is…”

“I rise today in some puzzlement. The President came to my part of our State last week and announced, ``The economy is strong here in North Carolina.'' As the Raleigh News & Observer observed, ``Is the President an optimist, or does he need an optometrist?'' Perhaps our economy seems strong to Mr. Bush. After all, he raked in over $2 million at his afternoon fundraiser. But he did not seem to notice that we have record numbers of laid-off workers who have exhausted their unemployment benefits, 68,000 at last count. Our unemployment rate in the Raleigh-Durham area is creeping up again. The rolls grew by almost 2,000 last month. We have had even heavier losses in manufacturing Statewide, where 158,000 such jobs have disappeared since the President took office. President Bush's declaration of our so-called ``strong'' economy is simply out of touch. He is peddling the idea is that his tax cuts for the wealthiest 1 percent have worked miracles. But North Carolinians know a sluggish recovery when they see one. Declaring our economy strong does not make it so, and it does not put food on the table either. The News & Observer noted that the President did not take questions from local reporters. Is it any wonder why?”