About That Progress Report Mr. President

President Obama gave another press conference tonight, and he now claims that he sees signs of progress on the economy.

Funny thing about that.

It has absolutely nothing to do with his porkfest or spending initiatives. Nothing whatsoever. It doesn't have anything to do with his homeowner mortgage assistance program either, since they're barely off the drawing board.

None of his ideas have made their way from paper to implementation. The tax adjustments made - reducing withholding by $13 per week ($400-$600 per year) is just taking effect now.

That doesn't explain why housing figures improved. They improved without his homeowner bailout because prices continue dropping making homes more affordable at a time when the Fed keeps the interest rates at near historic lows. Foreclosures - the market's real way of dealing with properties owned by people incapable of repaying their obligations, are making the real estate in some areas of the country far more affordable than any government affordable housing program could - and people are finding that home ownership is possible now for the first time in years if they are truly qualified to own those homes because the values aren't so terribly inflated.

That's not on Obama. That's on the rest of the economy trudging along despite the massive spending Obama contemplates.

In other words, the economy is going to improve without the porkfest, but we're going to get it anyways because we've been told that we needed it so fast that no one could bother to read the damned thing and realize that we were giving away the farm, providing billions to AIG (including bonuses courtesy of Dodd and the Administration), and countless billions that no one knows where they will end up. Then there's all the billions that come with strings attached for states - unfunded mandates that will saddle states with bad fiscal situations with an even tougher one once the money runs out.

There is no such thing as a free ride, and yet the media still is more than willing to put Obama up on the handlebars.

If anything, this press conference once again shows that Obama's grasp of the economic issues facing the country are at odds with the market economy and how it functions more efficiently than the government could ever hope to accomplish.