KeithHennessey.com

Politico is running my op-ed today explaining the linkage how the wrong health reform bill will hurt the economy.

The President and Vice President have this week sent mixed and confusing signals on the macroeconomic picture. This seems to be part of a broader problem with the Administration’s ability to send clear, coordinated, and internally consistent signals on economic policy.

Provoked by the Vice President’s comment on Sunday that the Administration “misread the economy,” the Obama Administration is partway through an unplanned shift in their topline economic message. It’s hard to reconcile a “stay the course” strategy with (a) new bad data, (b) “we misread the economy” and (c) “we had incomplete information.”

The Vice President says that “we and everyone else misread the economy,” and that “no one anticipated, no one expected that that recovery package would in fact be in a position at this point of having to distribute the bulk of money.” This is inaccurate.