But how's the economy?

Apparently the Conference Board of economists are all "girly-men":

The leading index, a harbinger of activity in the coming months, had dropped 0.3 percent in July and 0.1 percent in June. On Wall Street, economist had expected on average a decline of 0.2 percent in August.

Analysts said the drop was troubling and could signal further economic turbulence.

"Today's report suggests economic growth may be less robust than previously thought, contrary to the Fed's belief that the economy is gaining traction," said Sung Won Sohn, chief economist at Wells Fargo.

And this won't help:

Responding to an election-season request by Democrats, the Congressional Budget Office estimated Thursday that some of President Bush's budget policies plus other costs would add $1.3 trillion to federal deficits over the next decade.

Now back to the debate over Iraq.