Panic at the White House?  Gloomy Goldman Sachs sees high unemployment, possible recession  —  Last night in a new report, Democrat-friendly Goldman Sachs dropped an economic bomb on President Obama's chances for reelection (bold is mine): … Alarms bells must be ringing all over Obamaland today.

The Political Economy of the Lesser Depression  —  Everyone in the forecasting business is scrambling to mark down both their estimates of second-quarter growth and their forecasts for later in the year.  Goldman Sachs (no link) was pretty optimistic a few months ago; now they've grown quite pessimistic:

The Journal Becomes Fox-ified  —  It's official.  The Wall Street Journal has been Fox-ified.  —  It took Rupert Murdoch only three and a half years to get there, starting with the moment he acquired the paper from the dysfunctional Bancroft family in December 2007, a purchase that was completed …

House Republicans brace for compromise on debt  —  GOP leaders turn to their most trusted budget expert, Rep. Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.), to explain to the rank and file what could happen if Congress fails to raise the debt ceiling.  —  Reporting from Washington— Republican leaders in the House …

Woman Gropes TSA Agent's Breast at Security Checkpoint  —  PHOENIX - We hear a lot of complaints about security screeners groping airline passengers.  —  But now, a Colorado woman is accused of putting her hands on a TSA agent at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix.

Was John F. Kennedy the flat-out absolute worst U.S. president of the 20th century?  —  As I studied the Vietnam war over the last 14 months, I began to think that John F. Kennedy probably was the worst American president of the previous century.  —  In retrospect, he spent his 35 months …

The Great Charade  —  There is something surreal and unnerving about the so-called “debt ceiling” negotiations staggering on in Washington.  In the real world, negotiations on an increase in one's debt limit are conducted between the borrower and the lender.

Obama Eliminates Warren as Consumer Head  —  President Barack Obama has chosen a candidate other than Elizabeth Warren as director of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, according to a person briefed on the matter.  —  The president's choice is a person who already works at the consumer agency, the person said today.

How much did Fannie and Freddie cause the financial crisis?  —  Rortybomb summarizes some of the “not much” case (piling on here); see also Brad DeLong, Paul Krugman, David Min, and others.  He wonders what the non-spinners think and I will tell him what I think:

Law School Economics: Ka-Ching!  —  WITH apologies to show business, there's no business like the business of law school.  —  The basic rules of a market economy — even golden oldies, like a link between supply and demand — just don't apply.  —  Legal diplomas have such allure …