Shields, Brooks Examine GOP’s ‘Morale Boost’

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• JUDY WOODRUFF:

  And to the analysis of Shields and Brooks, syndicated columnist Mark Shields, and New York Times columnist David Brooks.

  Gentlemen, good to see you both.

  Let's start with the bad news, Mark, unemployment 10.2 percent. What are the implications for the president, for everybody else in Washington?

• MARK SHIELDS:

  Well, Judy, I think, first of all, it's still a shock. Even though it was expected, it's a shock.

  And there is something absolutely staggering to one's attention about 10 percent unemployment in this country, 26 years since we have had it before. And there's not the sense that we had in 1983 that the country is going to rebound quickly. We had 9.5 percent increase in productivity last quarter. And what — what has it lead to? It has lead to the stock market going up to 10,000 — that's great news — and profits going up, but jobs going down, and 192,000 lost this month.

  I just think it shows the disconnect between Wall Street and Main Street in this country and what people are going through. And I think, politically, it's a — it's an absolute warning and wakeup call to the Democrats that, if you are looking at 10 percent unemployment next October, you are looking at the threat of the Republicans winning the Congress.

• JUDY WOODRUFF:

  A wakeup call?

• DAVID BROOKS:

  Yes.

  I mean, it's — it's a combination of a bunch of things, first, a long-term period of unemployment. Now are you beginning to hear — we have heard economists talk for a long time about this will last through 2010. Now, all of a sudden, you're beginning to hear 2011.

  And that is because what we are recovering from, this long pileup of debt, and now we are living with the seven slim years that come after that pileup of debt. So, you have got the long period of unemployment, which people expect to linger for a long time.

  At the second point, you have got no faith in institutions. So, it's not like people believe that this can solve it or that can solve it. And then, if you ask people, well, should the government get more active to try to — another stimulus package, something like that else, twice as many people say no as yes, because they are afraid we have already got too much public deficits.

  So, what we have got is this long-term problem, no faith in institutions, and then no easy way out, which I think could lead over the next year or two to an even bigger increase in the sort of economic populism we are already seeing on left and right.

• JUDY WOODRUFF:

  So, if you are President Obama, what do you do?

• MARK SHIELDS:

  You pass health care.

• JUDY WOODRUFF:

  Or is there anything?