This, potentially, is much, much bigger than any narrow jobs plan

Hey Mitt, do you really want President Obama to be specific about a plan to create jobs?

[H]ousing starts rose a remarkable 15 percent in September, to their highest rate since July 2008. Analysts had forecast a 2.7 percent gain. The number of housing permits also rose at a double-digit rate, 11.6 percent, compared with the 1.1 percent forecasters were predicting.

Housing starts mean more than new houses. They mean jobs--they mean carpenters employed, and electricians employed, and painters and plumbers employed, and landscapers landscaping and furniture shops selling more furniture and appliance stores and drapery and carpet stores all hustling their wares to beaming new homeowners.

And if housing starts proceed in 2013 as they did in 2012, they alone--that is, assuming all other economic sectors remain constant--would boost the GDP to 3.25.

You know what all this is called, Mitt? Two things, actually: a solid recovery, and a jobs plan.

Comments

[Susan Zoon]

And yet... Romney is up 6 points over Obama in today's Gallop Poll. WTF? Someone talk me down.

[Robert Lipscomb]

I get multiple real estate industry newsletters. According to the industry experts, residential housing is projected for very large sustained growth for the next several years.

2.75:1 over there.

http://www.oddschecker.com/specials/politics-and-election/us-presidential-election/winner

[Robert Lipscomb]

Last night, Ed Rendell posited what my gut tells me and what the RAND polling indicates. The number of undecideds is more like 8-10% and not 1-2%.

You can bet your bottom dollar that the Obama campaign has field tested messages, counter-messages and counter-counter messages to target demographics. It is ludicrous for someone like me to second guess their messaging strategy. It might be flawed, but how would I or Chris Matthews know?

I have a deep faith in Obama's campaign staf - win or lose.

[japa21]

Susan, I am really starting to question Gallup on this. Even Rasmussen only has Romney up two. And that was yesterday's Gallup results. Today's comes out in about 2 hours. I don't expect to see much of a post debate bounce yet, not for about 3-4 days as pre-debate days roll off.

[japa21]

Oh, and in regard to the post's subject. These numbers only mean something if the vast majority of the population knows about them. If they get hidden in the business section, they do no good.

[Susan Zoon]

Thanks, japa21.

[shsavage]

It turns out that the Gallup Poll numbers were essentially reporting the massive preference for Romney in the South. Obama leads in all the other regions, that is to say, everywhere that matters.