Sean Patrick Maloney: “this past Saturday, former Senator Dole, now the Republican candidate for President, said in his radio address, ``The…”

“this past Saturday, former Senator Dole, now the Republican candidate for President, said in his radio address, ``The Congressional Joint Economic Committee reports that last year 66 countries had economic growth rates that surpassed ours. The President may think that when it comes to economic growth 67th place is good enough, but I do not. I want America to lead the world again in terms of economic growth, rising incomes, and greater job opportunities.'' In building his bridge to the past, Mr. Dole must have overlooked the present. Just look at the good news about the economy that came out in the 2 weeks before he spoke. One week before his speech, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis revised the second quarter growth rate of the gross domestic product upward to 4.8 percent. Exports and business investments showed strong upward movement. Tuesday before he spoke, the conference board reported the index of leading economic indicators, which projects the economy's health for the next 6 to 9 months, reached a record high. Last Friday, before the Joint Economic Committee, the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 250,000 jobs were created last month. This builds on the nearly 200,000 jobs we created in July, and on the 10.5 million in the President's first 3 rac{1}{2} ext{ years in office.}”