You know when the weatherman says it's going to be sunny, and it rains instead, do you blame the weatherman or the rain? When it comes to economics, you blame it on the rain.

CNN/Money, who sometimes takes financial advice from famed economist Billy Joel, notes that the GDP missed the forecast (rather than the forecast missing the GDP).

Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the nation's economy, grew at an annual rate of 3.4 percent in the second quarter, the Commerce Department reported, down from a 3.8 percent growth rate in the first quarter.

Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had a consensus forecast for 3.5 percent growth in the most recent period.

So 4 out of 5 economists said it would be 3.5%, but it was actually only 3.4%. I'm sure that this is somehow all Bush's fault.