William Elliot Hazelgrove at the Examiner in New Orleans comments in “Time for the middle class to stick up for themselves”:

“Don’t look for Barack to save you. He is just the President. We are talking about a man who ten years ago was driving around in an old Mustang and is now flying around in Air Force One. Populist rhetoric works when founded in some sort of reality.

…do not feel bad about losing your job or your home. We are in a Depression. The banks would have failed if not for the great bailout by the Government. GM just failed. Unemployment will go beyond ten percent. There is virtually no credit out there. People are losing their homes to the tune of a million a month. These are hard times. The President is trying to paint a positive picture. I get it. But the truth is, the middle class is broke. And until the President stops giving money to banks and companies and starts giving it to the people who do all the working, living, and dying in this country–then we will have to act in our own self interest. Good luck.”

Yup, if it’s not a depression for the economy at large, it’s because the big banks and the unions are getting handouts that ultimately come from keeping the middle class consumer sector deep in one. A depression is most depressing for those without any ability to buy votes and influence.