It continues to amaze me how such a large portion of less-than-affluent voters will vote for GW.  As Bush said at a high-priced dinner (captured in Fahrenheit 9/11), "Some people call you the elite, I call you my base."  Bush/Cheney couldn't give one hoot about the average American, but the genius is in how they can convey that they do seemingly care.  Today's NY Times article is just another item of evidence for the pile.  A key quote:
 
"There's a bit of a dichotomy," said Ethan S. Harris, chief economist at Lehman Brothers. "Joe Six-Pack is under a lot of pressure. He got a lousy raise; he's paying more for gasoline and milk. He's not doing that great. But proprietors' income is up. Profits are up. Home values are up. Middle-income and upper-income people are looking pretty good."