(CNN) - Newsweek magazine got some unsolicited PR Wednesday from President Obama, but it wasn't exactly a ringing endorsement of periodical's latest issue.
At a North Carolina town-hall health care event, Obama asked if anyone had seen the latest cover of Newsweek that boldly declares, "The Recession is Over!"
"I don't know whether you've seen the cover of the latest Newsweek magazine on the rack at the grocery store, but the cover says: 'The Recession is Over,'" the president said as part of his prepared remarks at the event.
"I imagine you might have found that news a little startling," Obama continued. "I know I did."
Obama went on to say while certain indicators are improving, like the stock market and home sales, "That's little comfort if you are one of the folks who have lost their job."
The article in question - with the sub-headline of 'Good Luck Surviving the Recovery' - actually says much the same as Obama did Wednesday - that leading indicators appear to suggest the recession is nearing an end, but the recovery is likely to be a slow process.
"When economists proclaim a recession over, they're celebrating a technicality: they mean economic output has stopped contracting," Newsweek's Daniel Gross writes. "And while that is good news, you might wait a while before adding Judy Garland's rendition of 'Happy Days Are Here Again' to your iPod."
UPDATE: Gross has issued a response to the president in a posting on Newsweek.com entitled, "Obama rips Newsweek's cover. We rip back."
"The article notes—as Obama's speech does—that the discussion surrounding the end of the recession is largely a technical discussion ("GDP growth alone can't feed a family, or a pay a mortgage") and that we face tough economic times and a recovery that will feel a lot like a recession," says Gross.
"It's common to hear journalists complain of being overworked. And in this case, it's true. In addition to writing the first draft of history, we seem to be writing the first draft of the president's speeches," he also says.
From CNN Politics
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Notice the astrisk there on the cover also. Notice how they also cut off the rest of the cover. Typical.
Obama continues to show his ignorance and his stupidity whilw driving our country into the toilets......so far how is this different from the past 8 years? Politicians doing what they do best screwing the tax payer
Sounds eerily similar to "mission accomplished".
Seeing how the republicans were responsible for BOTH the iraq war AND the recession/depression, this cant be a good sign.
Newsweek should pull the cover. That's false advertising.
I guess it is easy to read a magazine cover as opposed to a 1000 page piece of legislation. I bet Conyers could even read "Newsweek" without a lawyer.
I agree with the President lets wait a while before we celebrate
Don't scare the Republicans like that......they want the COUNTRY TO FAIL!!
All the leading economists say the same thing. A small recovery...followed by a huge decline. If the Obama policies of cap and trade and healtcare reform pass we will face a huge decline in our economy and inflation not seen since the days of Jimmy Carter. So get your cardboard box green car ready....learn to live without the a/c on....and put some Spam on the table for dinner....Here come the Obama years.
I am convinced that there is a right-wing effort to discredit the President by implying that he is racist, dumb, novice, ...etc. Let's hope that most can realize this.
It's going to take more than six months for the economy to rebound, after eight years of the policies that drove it into the ground. Give it time. The economy is a product of confidence.
It seems that about twenty percent of Americans are in a pose of locked denial and retrenchment against the President, hoping and expecting no recovery and certainly taking no action to aid the recovery themselves.
Try some cautious optimism, but keep it real. That's what Obama did in his reply.
It's possible that the GOP will be able to prevent this recovery, but will they be able to convince all the people they ruin that it was for the best in the long run? Sure, they're rich and unaffected by economic downturns, but not every Republican is as rich as Rush, and many of them are still at least as loyal to America as they are to the GOP.
Crack on Obama all you want; do you see Bush or Cheney trying to save our economy? Palin claims she is free to fight for the American People now, but she's trying to stop new jobs. Don't see Romney fighting for job creation either. The GOP wants America to fail, just so they will have a better chance in the next election.
Didn't Rahm come out last week and say the administration had "fixed" the economy?? Didn't Mitch McConnell make fun of him on the house floor?? Now they make fun of a magazine basically repeating what they proclaimed....Awesome
Talk about a non-story. Nothing else to put on the cover of a news magazine. Nothing else for CNN to talk about. Pitiful
Maybe Newsweek is doing their part to lift the countries mood with a little reverse psychology. Most people don't understand the economy , and only care about how it afftects them, if you tell then it's over, Business may being hiring at lower salaries, but job will be filled, and impulse spending here we come. Hopefully the American consumer will be smarter about their personal finances this time around, most of us have such short attention spans though I doubt it. Obama's been in office 7 months and some are screaming that all the problems should be fixed like he has a magic wand.
Finally agree with Obama on something. Of course his stimulous package hasn't done anything to alleviate the recession either.
Newsweek might as well be People magazine. Worthless. Other than an extension of the White House press office I fail to see their value. Glad Obama was honest because out here in the real world companies are not spending $ and things are tight.
Didn't Obama just hire one of Newsweeks reporters for a position in the administration?? Wasn't it the guy who was supposed to be covering Obama throughout the campaign?? Sure no bias there, but then he turns around and mocks the organization that has become a feeder program for his organization... Interesting
Not everything is "mocking" you know. Tired of people using that word when they obviously don't know what it means.
of course he would mock it – if it's not in his best interest
- he's running this country – along with his ("friends" ) into the ground and what he'd not running into the ground he's selling or giving away to China and other nations he's getting favors from. THAT'S A FACT. obama is NOT doing the AMERICA PUBLIC any favors nor is he LOOKING OUT FOR OUR INTERESTS. Wake up America. Is this really the kind of leader we need? Were we really STUPID ENOUGH to believe he would be any better than any other politician we have elected in the recent past?
I pray GOD will help us all. Please God, BLESS AMERICA – we are in deep trouble. We keep getting it all wrong. SHOW US THE RIGHT PATH.
How can one person be so stupid . . . I thought Obie was intelligent, but as usual with his actions, he proved that he is ignorant of the facts in the real world. Never have I had such little respect for a so-called 'leader' of the country. I thought he would be different than the typical liberal . . . and I was right in that he is actually worse.
Kinda like a "mission accomplished" sign?
Obama came into this mess caused by bush, he is doing what he can to fix it, and he is a great president. He is going to get the health care reform that has never been done. He is not a lobbyist loved lke bush and the right. You people are a joke that blame him for this. AND there are jobs being created and saved due to HIM! Thank your friends and neighbors that voted for Obama, could you imagine palin and mccain in there? OMG!!!
Bush would have have this made into a huge sign behind him at every stop..after all, he economy was in great shape last fall, until it wasn't. Thank God that Obama is in office. I can't understand the negativity toward him, unless it's race-based. The good old boys cannot come to grips with an intelligent black man as our leader. Tough! He's working hard for all of us, not just you guys (oh, THAT'S the problem!)
OBUMMER didnt do a darn thing.
The media and the democrats with blinders on need to wake up and realize Obama has not done ANYTHING but spend some money.
History has shown there have been economic recessions that we have always come out of. And Obamas 7 months in office have nothing to with the recession being over.
As usual, Obie can only read something someone else has written. How dumb can a person be . . . and yet more disturbing is that 40% of the people are following him into downfall of our country.