Bush had a speech yesterday and Bernanke testifies before Congress and both have a different opinion on the economy.

The Prez says that the economy is strong and that production, trade and other stuff is up and going good.

The housing finance crisis and spiraling energy costs will remain a drag on the U.S. economy for the rest of the year, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told lawmakers in a gloomy presentation about the economic outlook.

“The economy continues to face numerous difficulties, including ongoing strains in financial markets, declining house prices, a softening labor market, and rising prices of oil, food, and some other commodities,” Bernanke told the Senate Banking Committee early Tuesday.

The nation’s top central banker warned “many financial markets and institutions remain under considerable stress, in part because the outlook for the economy, and thus for credit quality, remains uncertain.”

He also expressed concerns about rising inflation risks due to high commodity prices, suggesting that the Fed might not be able to take steps to support economic growth because of the risk that they would feed inflation pressures.

One speech was a poltical one that showed that politics does not dwell in reality.  The other was a testimony on the real issues with real concerns.