The Economic Cycle Research Institute, a New York-based independent forecasting group, said its Weekly Leading Index rose to a 47-week high of 123.9 in the week to Aug. 7 from a downwardly revised 121.7 the prior week, which was originally
reported at 121.8.

Meanwhile, the index’s annualized growth rate leapt to a 26-year high of 13.4 percent from last week’s five-year high of 10.4 percent, which ECRI originally reported at 10.5 percent. It was the index’s highest yearly growth rate reading since the week to Aug. 26, 1983, when it stood at 13.9 percent.

“With WLI growth surging, the odds are rising that the early stage of this economic recovery will be stronger than any since the early 1980s,” said Lakshman Achuthan, Managing Director at ECRI.

From the beginning I thought the economic woes that started in 2008 were fed in part by the media’s obsession with Bush. Four years of non-stop negative coverage contributed to the panic last fall. I’m not saying the coverage created a recession, but it helped contribute. Perception is a integral part of the economy. The fact that 2008 was an election year didn’t help the press.

For Obama, 2012 could be a very easy reelection if the economy is booming. What’s Obama’s plan to put the United States back on a solid economic foundation? Social Security and Medicare must be addressed and Bush’s prescription drug program needs to be repealed.