A "Washington Memo" about President Obama reports, "With the crisis that defined his first term behind him, and the economy growing, if slowly, the legacy-minded Mr. Obama seems almost liberated at being given more time for unfinished business like immigration and climate change, and new issues like gun safety, say those who have met with him."
It's interesting to see the Times declare that the economy is "growing." The Commerce Department's report for fourth quarter 2012 GDP was that, in real terms, the economy was shrinking. Maybe the Times has a scoop on some upcoming revision to that GDP data, or it has a scoop on the first quarter 2013 data, but if it does, you'd think that would be the headline rather than a throwaway phrase in a "Washington Memo."
Anyway, it's hard to imagine that if it were a Republican president who had just turned in a quarter of negative GDP growth, the Times would be so blithely assuring readers that the economy is growing.