By: Jeffrey Klein
Political Buzz Examiner

The mainstream media cartel seems to be responding in rare form, as though they had received a “911” call from the White House and Team Obama headquarters in Chicago, in their attempts to ‘cloud’ the present, while propping up the future to propel the November reelection chances for President Barack Obama and Democrats.

Too bad the facts just keep getting in their way.

The first example is Tom Raum’s Associated Press article today, titled “The RACE: Some swing states showing strong rebound,” with the obvious hook being to encourage the Democrat faithful that Obama’s unobstructed slide in all of the swing states may be reversing.

They are not–but Mr. Raum tried mightily, beginning with…

[Gov.] Mitt Romney is walking a thin line on the sluggish economy, trying to keep his focus squarely on the nation’s financial problems without appearing to be wishing things get worse.

For months, the Republican challenger has pointed to tepid recovery and jobs growth under President Barack Obama. Polls show it’s his strongest argument for seizing the White House.

“Thin line?”

Polls consistently show that a majority of Americans believe we have fallen back into a recession–and the hard facts support their feelings.

Like the Reuters reporting yesterday on the collapse of the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Business Activity Index, which tracks current and new order manufacturing activity:

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank said its business activity index dropped to minus 16.6 from minus 5.8 in May, far below economists’ expectations for a reading of zero, according to a Reuters poll.

The forward-looking new orders gauge fell to minus 18.8 from minus 1.2.

At this juncture, let’s interject another Reuter’s article from yesterday, reporting on the weekly jobless claims figure, but this one had a little published ‘phraseology’ help from the Obama Labor Department, to fabricate a title that could not be more corrupt:

“Jobless Claims Fall, Four-Week [Moving] Average Highest Since December”

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits slipped 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 387,000, the Labor Department said.

The prior week’s figure was revised up to 389,000 from the previously reported 386,000.

The four-week moving average for new claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends, increased 3,500 to 386,250 – the highest level since early December.

And, the ‘cadre’ of Reuter’s economists again ‘under-estimated’ the ‘expected’ claims number, which accounts for the weekly estimates having to be revised upwards, with this being the 68th time over the past 69 weeks.

Could this too be a trend of orchestrated collusion–or delusion?

Regardless, back to Raum’s article, which stumbled ahead in a disjointed, passive-aggressive manner.

But he [Romney] risks playing into Democratic accusations that Republicans are rooting for a faltering economy.

Playing into “Democrat accusations?”

That must be the only card left in the Democrat’s deck—probably because they are sensing that their ‘race card’ has expired, and is no longer being accepted outside the Democrat party.

Economists insist the economy’s on the mend — but recovery is painstakingly slow and uneven.

“Economists insist?”

Could these be the same “Reuters” economists who have had their jobless claim estimates revised upward every week for more than a year—including the totally misleading title this week?

Who are perhaps the same Reuters economists whose Philadelphia Fed Index estimates mentioned above, couldn’t seem to hit the broadside of a barn?

Some of the best jobs gains are in presidential battleground states. That could alter the political calculus, perhaps in Obama’s favor.

As to the battle ground states he mentioned in his article, they include Florida, whose unemployment rate fell, after Republican Governor Rick Scott was elected, from a peak of 11.4 percent in January 2010, down to 8.6 percent in May.

Then, there is Ohio — another top swing state — whose unemployment rate in May of 7.3 percent, is well below the national average, followed by Iowa at 5.1 percent; New Hampshire at 5.0 percent; Virginia at 5.6 percent; and, Wisconsin at 6.8 percent.

However, with much gratitude, Mr. Raum slipped off his message in the end, when he referenced a seminal point made by Gov. Romney–all but one of these states has a newly-elected Republican Governor.

In the end, such articles are–to jump from Styx 1977 hit song–simply a ‘grand delusion.’