Unrequited Love

The absurdly pro-Obama magazine Newsweek has a cover story saying "The Recession is Over! But Not For You -- Yet." The piece, by Dan Gross, is a well-written look at the current economic scene, and includes the caveat that, while macro-economic conditions may be improving, the job outlook will likely remain poor for some time. You'd think the administration would appreciate the (slightly) good news.

It didn't, however. In fact, Obama went out of his way yesterday to criticize the magazine that for the last two years has featured him on its cover something like, I don't know, a gazillion times:

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!"I bet you found that news a little startling. I know I did. Here's what's true: we've stopped the free fall. The market is up and the financial system is no longer on the verge of collapse. We're losing jobs at half the rate we were when I took office six months ago ... So, we may be seeing the beginning of the end of the recession. But that's little comfort if you're one of the folks who have lost their job, and haven't found another ...

Gross rebuts the president here.

Key lesson: Money, or fawning coverage, can't buy you love.