To hear Gov. C.L. (Butch) Otter's latest campaign commercial, it's virtually "morning again" in Idaho. Unemployment is down. The economic outlook is healthy. The state is a great place to start a business. He's kidding, right? It's bad enough Otter constructs this edifice on the flimsiest of claims:

• Two forecasters -- Moody's Analytics and Kiplinger's -- say Idaho will grow jobs by 2 percent this year - ahead of the national average and among the top 10 states. Forecasts? Really? This from a governor who disregarded his own economists' forecasts two years running?
• Among those giving Idaho a healthy economy index is the American Legislative Exchange Council - the engine of conservative, starve-the-beast policies that have raided Idaho school budgets and handed over tax cuts to Otter's corporate cronies.
• Idaho has nowhere to go but up. When the Great Recession struck, Idaho's employment rate collapsed earlier, faster and deeper than just about any other place. More here.

Question: Do you think we're closer to morning or midnight in Idaho?

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