The Near- and Longer-Term Prospects for the U.S. Economy  —  Good morning.  As always, thanks are due to the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City for organizing this conference.  This year's topic, long-term economic growth, is indeed pertinent—as has so often been the case at this symposium in past years.

At Jackson Hole, Bernanke Tells The Nation He'll Deliver High Unemployment For Years  —  As I urged below, I think the most important part of Ben Bernanke's speech today is what it does to shape expectations.  The news isn't good.  Ben Bernanke is telling people not only that the Fed …

Economic Growth Slows to Crawl, GDP Increase at 1%  —  The U.S. economy grew much slower than previously thought in the second quarter as business inventories and exports were less robust, a government report showed on Friday, although consumer spending was revised up.

Perry's Popping-Off Problem  —  The Republican candidate comes across well as consistent and sincere, but his quick-draw machismo will scare voters away.  —  Rick Perry this week roared away from the pack.  Gallup had him the party favorite, with 29% of Republicans and Republican-leaning …

Source: Pataki decides against White House run  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) - Former New York Gov. George Pataki will not run for the Republican presidential nomination, a source close to him told CNN.  —  Pataki, who had been flirting with a White House bid for months, was scheduled to appear …

When bad governors try bad ideas  —  Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) came up with an idea he considered pretty clever.  First, he told Floridians that people on welfare were more likely to be drug addicts.  What did Scott base this on?  Nothing in particular — he seemed to just make it up — but Scott was quite fond of the argument.