It's The Economy, Stupid

Pollsters are constantly worrying about our perceptions of politicians. What do their other halves look like? Who looks best when eating a bacon sandwich? Should they even be eating bacon sandwiches in the first place? For the voter, though, it all comes down to one thing: the economy. While good economic news can send popularity sky-rocketing, bad performance can blight a party's election chances for years. But, with policies often working with time lags, it's rarely clear who is responsible fo