The current state of the Obama administration

USA today fact checks Obama (and, by extension, Warren Buffett). The really troublesome thing about this is not that Obama got his facts wrong on the speech.  It is that he did it on purpose. Major economic speeches are vetted by any number of people in the administration including in particular people at the Council of Economic Advisers and the Treasury Department who would know that the claims in the speech are complete rubbish. Even Obama's political people, who also would have vetted the speech, should have known the claims were rubbish, given all the commentary on Buffett's op-ed piece in the blogosphere. But the speech went ahead anyway. Sad.

A fine, and not unrelated, column by David Brooks on the administration's decline into beltway politics as usual.

A not unrelated book excerpt, highlighted by Brad DeLong, illustrates the inner workings of Obama's economic team.

And, the cherry on top, reason makes the case that the wheels are coming off.