3rd Quarter Growth Below Expectations (CBS/AP):
"...The U.S. economy grew at a 3.7 percent annual rate in the third quarter — a pace that was slightly better than in the spring but not as strong as many analysts expected...
...Analysts were predicting that the economy, which Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan had said hit a "soft patch" in the late spring, would gain traction and expand at a more brisk 4.3 percent rate in the third quarter...
...Compared to economic growth in the past three presidential terms, it was a middling figure. If four quarters since Mr. Bush has become president, growth was stronger. In eight, it has been weaker..."
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/10/27/national/main651840.shtml