OUR VIEW: McDonnell should focus on improving the economy

» If we can effectively promote economic recovery, many of our other issues will fall into place.

James Carville was right.

He coined the phrase “It’s the economy, stupid” as a campaign strategist in Bill Clinton’s 1992 run for the White House. Clinton, of course, defeated President George H.W. Bush despite Bush having presided over the end of the Cold War and success in the Persian Gulf War.

We just happened to be coming out of a recession in 1992.

That phrase has become part of the political lexicon — almost even a cliché — but there’s a lot of truth in it.

The economy was on Americans’ minds in 1992, and it’s on Virginians’ minds in 2009.

Bailouts notwithstanding,  job creation is primarily up to small business. However, the new governor and the General Assembly can do a lot to promote job creation.

Adequately funding necessary transportation projects, such as the proposed interchange at U.S. 29 and Route 666, will create good-paying jobs for people who will spend much of that money in the area. Couple that with the service jobs that often spring up with construction and you have a recipe for economic recovery. Plus, we get a safer infrastructure.

But, of course, we could overdo it as well. If we fund every infrastructure project we want rather than just those we need, we run the risk of spending beyond our means, which leads to a deepening budget deficit. That’s where the new governor and the General Assembly need to work together and prioritize. If they can successfully do that, we could see our budget issues resolved.