At yesterday’s Mt Pleasant Rotary Club meeting I overheard my lunch neighbor tell someone he and his business are feeling better about the economy.   He has noticed a slow but steady increase in shoppers, shopping not related to tourist season in the Low Country.

There is still plenty of rough economic news pouring out at us, but there is an unmistakable sense of calm and hope.   Barack Obama must be given the credit.  Yes, I voted for Obama and yes I understand there are plenty of folks who disagree with several items on his agenda.  But I believe thinking members of our community, as opposed to those whose knees jerk with ease, will agree Obama seems to be moving us in the right direction.

This is very very new territory for our government.  This is a very very problematic period in our history.  There is no supplied set-up documentation for him to follow.   He has clearly surrounded himself with brillant minds, clearly weighed his options and clearly moved us in what appears to be an intelligent direction with calm and confidence.

And it is that calm and confidence which I believe has resulted in increasing numbers of shoppers coming into my lunch neighbor’s store.

Bloomberg News says consumer confidence in the U.S. jumped by the most since 2005 this month as stocks rallied, mortgage rates dropped and Americans anticipated more jobs would become available.

“There certainly is starting to be a shift here, where the data is either less bad or even starting to improve,” Michael Darda, chief economist at MKM Partners LP in New York, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. While “we certainly haven’t turned the corner yet” the economy “could bottom out between June and October of this year and then start” growing.

The gain in confidence raises the odds that recent gains in consumer spending, which accounts for 70 percent of the economy, will be sustained.

Public-opinion polls also show for the first time in four years most Americans say they believe the U.S. is going in the right direction.

Gooden + Faircloth’s real estate business has in the past month also seen a welcome uptick and movement toward the light.  Like our president, let us remain calm and confident that better days are ahead for Mt Pleasant and America.