Condi Rice says everything’s hunky-dory

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This line from U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s speech today in Switzerland would be a lot more convincing, frankly, if Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson hadn’t canceled his trip to Davos at the last minute because he’s busy trying to avert a recession at home: 

The U.S. economy is resilient, its structure is sound, and its long-term economic fundamentals are healthy.

So, just how sound is the U.S. economy? Earlier this week, FP spoke with preeminent economist Martin Feldstein, who heads the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), to weigh in. NBER is the organization that officially designates when the U.S. economy is in recession, so Feldstein is an authority, if not the authority, on the dreaded “r” word. Check out the interview, today’s Seven Questions.