Meet the New Quarter, Same as the Old Quarter

And I'm not talking coins here.  Q2 GDP growth is as stagnant as the horrific Q1 numbers were.

Second verse, same as the first: The quarter when the economy was supposed to stage its comeback is looking just as bad as its disappointing predecessor.

We’ve had a slew of distressing economic data come in during the last few weeks. As a result, economists have been steadily downgrading their forecasts for economic growth in the second quarter. Today’s news is no exception; after a major bummer of an inflation report, Macroeconomic Advisers, the highly respected forecasting firm, lowered its annualized second quarter G.D.P. forecast to 1.9 percent.

Meanwhile, Obama and the Tea Party argue about the arrangement of the deck chairs...