Stick a Fork in: They're Done!

Steve Pearlstein, who is *not* the author of the excellent Goldwater book Before the Storm, roasts the Bush Council of Economic Advisers:

Did You Hear the One About the Trade Deficit? : The White House Council of Economic Advisers is not generally known for its playful sense of humor. But in the annual Economic Report of the President, released this week, the CEA decided to have a bit of fun with the record $726 billion trade deficit.... [T]hose wry PhDs framed their analysis not as consumption exceeding production (the so-called current account deficit), but as a consequence of cheap foreign capital financing our profligacy (the capital account surplus, which by definition is its mirror image). It's a bit like General Motors, ending a disastrous sales month, declaring what a good period it had been for inventory replenishment....