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Note: The following text is a quote: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog_post/beyond_the_echo_chamber/ Friday, February 6th, 2009 at 12:55 pm Advice from "beyond the echo chamber" We just learned the economy lost another 600,000 jobs last month. It's a staggering number, and it underscores just how deep this crisis is – and, as the President pointed out this morning, it’s accelerating. That's why he created the Economic Recovery Advisory Board -- to solicit ideas from "beyond the echo chamber of Washington, DC." "I’m not interested in groupthink, which is why the Board reflects a broad cross-section of experience, expertise, and ideology," he said. "We’ve recruited...

WASHINGTON – Retail sales fell for a second straight month in April, a disappointing performance that raised doubts about whether consumers were regaining their desire to shop. A rebound in consumer demand is a necessary ingredient for ending the recession. The Commerce Department said Wednesday that retail sales fell 0.4 percent last month. Many economists had expected a flat reading, and the April weakness followed a 1.3 percent drop in March that was worse than first estimated. Retail sales had posted gains in January and February after falling for six straight months, raising hopes that the all-important consumer sector of...

President George W Bush campaigned up and down a small rural stretch of the heartland yesterday, desperately seeking to shore up his position in a once safe region where Republicans are registering the first prickles of concern about his record - and his chances. With just a week to go before voting, Mr Bush focused his fire on Wisconsin and Iowa, two mid-western states that have become pivotal to his chances. He lost both narrowly to Al Gore in 2000 but now badly needs to win them as an insurance policy, given the state of play in Ohio and Florida,...