Face the Nation: What to do about the economy?
This Sunday's Guests on "Face the Nation" are Obama Campaign Adviser David Axelrod, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and Howard Dean, the former chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
Months of debate over the crisis created over the debt ceiling have given way to a new cold reality in Washington - the economy. As the government dithered to fix its own mess, the stock market erased all of its gains from 2011, roughly a trillion dollars in value lost in a matter of weeks, capped off by a 513 point drop Thursday.
(Above: Bob Schieffer previews the show)
Today's announcement of decent jobs numbers, with 117,000 jobs created in July and a drop in the unemployment rate to 9.1%, gives the markets some much needed optimism. But fears of a double-dip recession are real and taking their toll on investors around the world.
With the debt crisis over for now, the hard work begins. The White House has promised to pivot to jobs, after making similar promises numerous times in the past. Meanwhile, the Republican controlled House of Representatives, which promised to focus on jobs, is now off on a month long vacation.
Robert Reich: U.S. double-dip recession chances are 50-50
The big question to come out of Washington in the past month was: Can the two parties get anything accomplished to fix the economy? Is there the political will and is there the political capital, including much needed spending in certain aspects of the economy to help spur recovery? Many of the Wall Street fears could be from the fact that the federal government may be out of the recovery business, with the Federal Reserve's monetary programs nearly finished and Congress's political unwillingness to spend any money on additional stimulus measures.
There are a few things the White House is considering, but with Congress out of town and more divided than ever, can anything get done quickly and effectively enough to make a difference?
With so many Americans having lost faith in government to act - 56 percent of Americans are dissatisfied with Washington and 28 percent are downright angry according to the latest CBS News/New York Times poll, can Washington accomplish anything to help fix the economy?
Poll: Disapproval of Congress hits all-time high
What will the White House do to turn the economy around? Can President Obama win re-election if the economy takes another turn for the worse? Can the two parties in Washington work together or has the debt debate made the wheels of government even less effective?
Those will be among the topics addressed as David Axelrod, a top adviser to the Obama campaign, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and former Vermont Governor and former Chairman of the Democratic National Committee Howard Dean join Bob Schieffer to Face the Nation.
From CBS MoneyWatch.com:
Jill Schlesinger: July Jobs -- Better, but Still Lousy
Larry Swedroe: Stock Market plunge - What to do
Allan Roth: Why I'm Buying Stocks Today
