I think the administration take on this was two-fold:
It's the handsomest, sicking-up dog of an economy we'll ever see and... it belongs to the Republicans.
Good stuff, all in all, and I doubt it would have been possible without a marked dumbing down of the presidential electorate and the people that inform them.
U.S. economic momentum screeched to a halt in the final months of 2012, as lawmakers' struggle to reach a deal on tax increases and budget cuts likely led businesses to pare inventories and the government to cut spending.
Didn't big business tell Congress about the dangers of budgetary conflicts when taken to the wire?
Small business sacrificed again, although many would have liked Government to balance its books.
Who among us didn't put off purchases because of the idiotsy of our legislators?