I think Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX) wants you to consider the deeper story behind George W. Bush being photographed wearing Crocs beach shoes. Does he think they're stylish? I don't suppose he gives much thought to style. Does he find them comfortable? If he was after strict comfort, a cross trainer from Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) would do a better job on pavement. Is he giving a friendly endorsement opportunity to his buddy Rick Sharp? That's probably the gist of it, but wait, there's more. Think just a little bit deeper to the true message that was sent by President Bush wearing those shoes.

The Crooks and Liars blog reports that President Bush's approval rating is at 29%, its lowest point ever. I don't put much stock in polls, I never did, and I never will. The reason being that no matter how unbiased a polling organization claims to be, poll numbers can be very easily manipulated. Even something as simple as the time of day that opinions are solicited can seriously change outcomes, but that's not what I want to bring to you.

The matter is simply this: If President Bush was as widely disliked as the left-wing, mainstream media would like you to believe he is, do you really think that Rick Sharp would have put those shoes on him? The wearing of Crocs by George W. Bush was as much an endorsement of that man by a hip and young company as it was an endorsement of those shoes. The leftist spin-meisters can tell you all they want about how the nation hates Bush, but the fact of the matter is this: A flourishing retailer doesn't generally present its product with the use of disliked individuals.

You didn't see Crocs on the feet of Jack Kevorkian as he left prison, did you?

President Bush and Crocs thumb their noses at media polls approval rating originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 19 Jun 2007 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I was just listening to NPR's Marketplace, and perked up my ears when someone (who turned out to be James Grant of Grant's Interest Rate Observer) said, "Bernanke ... is in the business of price fixing." I knew it would be interesting, and paid closer attention.

Sure enough, things got a little hot in the NPR studios. Grant was explaining how there were two possible interpretations of the current market outlook: either we're in more danger of inflation, or in more danger of an economic slowdown. The Fed's behavior reflects its (and most importantly, chairman Ben Bernanke's) belief that the danger of inflation is great. Grant isn't so sure, he said: "It might just be the Fed is misinformed."

Yikes! Host Kai Ryssdal asked for clarification, saying Grant's analysis sounded "scary." So Grant dropped the bomb. "If, instead of the very important-sounding phrase 'central banker' you were to substitute the phrase 'government worker,' would you be a little less surprised of the possibility that the Fed could be misinformed?" Now them's fighting words, Grant. Not that any of us (or you, dear readers) seem to disagree ...

The Fed is misinformed? Bernanke critics call him 'government worker' originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 07 Jun 2006 19:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.