One basic assumption is common to both sides of this year’s bitter presidential race between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney: that the US economy is in bad, bad shape.
Mr Romney, the challenger, has made slow recovery the subject of his campaign. “What America needs is jobs. Lots of jobs,” he said, declaring that the “Obama economy has crushed the middle class” as he accepted the Republican nomination.
Mr Obama, the incumbent, implicitly agrees that the economy is weak even if he prefers entirely different solutions. In his acceptance speech he talked about it taking “more than a few years” to solve economic challenges. His campaign has put all its effort into attacking Mr Romney’s private equity career.