Feeling Good About the Economy? You’re Probably a Republican

Americans are feeling better about the economy. Or at least Republicans are.

A combination of low unemployment, peppier economic growth and a record-setting stock market has pushed measures of consumer confidence to their highest levels since the dot-com boom of the late 1990s and early 2000s. That optimism is spilling over into spending, as well: Retail sales rose in May at their fastest pace in six months.

But the strong economy hasn’t overcome an even more potent force: partisanship. CONT.

Ben Casselman & Jim Tankersley, New York Times