Despite Obama's optimism, economic outlook remains grim

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"Across America, recovery is under way,"

Vice President Joe Biden said in a statement accompanying a 28-page progress report.
However, Douglas Elmendorf, the director of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, was more cautious in his "State of the Economy" review to the House Budget Committee last week.

"The economy will stop contracting and resume growing during the second half of this year," ... "but the hardships caused by the recession will persist for some time."

The CBO report found that through April only about $19 billion in stimulus funds has been spent.

In addition, Elmendorf predicted, unemployment is expected to peak at 10.5 percent in the second half of next year. Last month's rate was 8.9 percent, up from 8.1 percent in February, when the stimulus became law.

The number of unemployed increased by 1.26 million during the past two months to 13.7 million.

The administration's report Wednesday was nonetheless upbeat...

[And so the media coverage will be...]

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