redblueamerica.com

From the "In God we trust, everyone else bring data" file, Brian Wesbury offers a most optimistic take on the economy in Monday's Wall Street Journal:

A year ago, most economic data looked much worse than they do today. Industrial production fell 1.1% during the six months ending February 2007, while new orders for durable goods fell 3.9% at an annual rate during the six months ending in November 2006. Real GDP grew just 0.6% in the first quarter of 2007 and retail sales fell in January and again in April. But the economy came back and roared in the middle of the year -- real GDP expanded 4.4% at an annual rate between April and September.

Wesbury, whom I know and trust as a source from my IBD days, concludes that "the U.S. financial system is not as fragile as many pundits suggest. Nor is the economy showing anything other than normal signs of stress." It might be a rough year, but nothing to panic about.