Strong Retail Sales Defy Democrats' Forecasts

AOL News has the figures from the Thanksgiving weekend start to the Christmas shopping season, and early indications are that shoppers have not been paying attention to gloomy media and political candidates' forecasts about the state of the economy. Retail sales for Friday and Saturday combined rose by 7.2% over last year to a staggering $16.4 billion. Sales on Black Friday alone rose a very healthy 8.3% over last year to $10.3 billion, according to ShopperTrak RCT Corp, which tracks sales at over 50,000 retailers nationwide. The news was even better online, as consumers drove sales up 22% over last year according to comScore, Inc., an internet research firm. comScore expects Monday's single day sales totals to exceed $700 million. "This was a really good start. There seemed to be a lot of pent-up demand," said Bill Martin, co-founder of ShopperTrak.

The sales figures may come as a surprise to Democratic presidential candidates, who just last week were squabbling over who was best to lead the nation in a time of worsening economic conditions.

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In a policy position posted on her campaign website, Sen. Hillary Clinton paints a bleak picture of the nation's economic health.

America's middle class is under siege and ready for a change. People are working harder and longer for less and less.

Corporate profits are up. CEO pay is up. Wages are lagging. Household debt is soaring. At the same time, health care, energy, and education costs are rising.

At a campaign stop in Knoxville, Iowa, last week, Sen. Clinton assailed her chief rival, Sen. Barack Obama, as too inexperienced to handle the deepening economic crisis. "There is one job we can't afford on-the-job training for; that's the job of our next president. That could be the costliest job training in history. Every day that's spent learning the ropes is another day of rising costs, mounting deficits and growing anxiety for our families. And they cannot afford to keep waiting," she said.

Sen. Obama's web site does not list any specific statements on the health of the U.S. economy. But in a recent speech in Bettendorf, Iowa, titled "Reclaiming the American Dream," Sen. Obama echoed Sen. Clinton's mournful note on the perceived challenges facing families in today's economic climate.

When our fellow Americans are denied the American dream, our own dreams are diminished. And today, the cost of that dream is rising faster than ever before...You know it from your own lives. Americans are working harder for less and paying more for health care and college. It's harder to save. It's harder to retire. You're doing your part, you're meeting your responsibilities, but it always seems like you're treading water or falling behind.

But if the retail sales numbers from this weekend are any indication, Americans are brushing past these dire warnings about their economic plight to get to the sales counter.

American retailers make about 40% of their profits in the four weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Every year in anticipation, consumers are treated to news stories that fret about the upcoming make-or-break Christmas shopping season for retailers. Everything from a cooling housing market, to the credit crunch on Wall Street, to higher gas and home heating oil prices were cited as reasons for Americans to close their wallets.

This year, those worries were compounded by the presidential candidates posturing for the attention of disaffected voters. But almost every year, American consumers ignore the warnings, defy the predictions, and increase their spending on Christmas gifts and related holiday items. The Democratic hopefuls might have to adjust their message of economic woe if the weekend's sales figures are backed up by another strong jobs report in two weeks. Otherwise they risk being accused of talking down the economy.

At her, Knoxville, Iowa, event, Sen. Clinton summed up the Republican presidential candidates' positions on the economy. "They see eight years of Bush economics and say, 'Why not eight more?" Apparently, last weekend, holiday shoppers were saying much the same thing.


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