The Great 2008 Depression? Not in Colorado

We all have heard someone say that the US is facing the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.  And CNNMoney editor Chris Isidore contributes his share to that myth today by painting a compelling picture why John McCain will get trounced in November by correlating the poor economic performance in battleground states with the loss of economic credibility by the incumbent president's party.

"Florida, Nevada, Georgia, Tennessee and Colorado - states where President Bush won the electoral vote in 2000 and 2004 - have seen their unemployment rate jump substantially the past 12 months, according to the latest readings from the Labor Department," writes Isidore on CNNMoney.

What's the problem with Isidore's thesis?

The worst that can be said of McCain's campaign prospects in each of those states Isidore mentions is that the race is competitive in Florida (McCain +5), Colorado (Obama +3), Nevada (McCain +5) while in the case of Georgia and Tennessee McCain holds a commanding leads of 14 and 17 percentage points respectively according to Rassmussen's latest polling data.

While it's certainly true that voters vote their pocketbook, in the case of Colorado at least, the pocket hasn't shrunken quite as much as the Dems would want you to believe.

According to figures supplied by the Colorado Department and Employment, unemployment in Colorado is steady at 4.4 percent. While year over year unemployment is up 18 percent in Colorado as of May it's still below the national average of 5 percent.

To put that in perspective, there was a long period of time in the 1970's and early 80's where 5 percent employment was considered full employment- the employment figure beyond which it was impossible to go. In the slowdown in 2003 the country topped out at 6.3 percent unemployment. During the Great Depression the unemployment rate went from 3 percent in 1929 to 25 percent in 1933.

We face dire times certainly. But it's nothing that can't be fixed by an editor taking a Zoloft or two.