Businesses have held back on spending ahead of the election, because of a lack of clarity on broader policy but also specifically on uncertainty about health care costs, taxes and the “fiscal cliff.” The fiscal cliff is the year-end expiration of tax breaks and a round of budgetary cuts that come in the first quarter if Congress fails to act. The result would be a hit of about 3 percent on GDP next year, but substantially sharper in the first quarter, Zandi said.

“I can’t believe businesses are not out there saying: ‘I don’t have a reason to hire anybody. Interest rates are going nowhere. I can wait a couple of months to see what happens in the election,’” said BTIG chief global strategist Dan Greenhaus. “There is absolutely nothing on their horizon to suggest that between now and the end of the year that anything will change in the economy.”

Even though European leaders are taking actionto stem the sovereign crisis, markets have given them little credit. The faltering economy in Europe is also pinching the U.S. economy, which saw a drop off in manufacturing exportslast month. The recovery in risk assets, like stocks and commodities, that came after last week’s European summithas already faded, and there are again concerns about the Spanish bank bailout haunting the markets. The euro Friday fell to a two-year low.

“It’s like quick sand. It’s like mud,” Greenhaus said of the economic malaise.

Credit Suisse economist Jonathan Basile had another description: “It’s like trying to sprint through molasses. It’s great for conditioning but it’s hard as hell,” he said. Like an athlete, “sometimes when the economy runs too slow, it feels like it hurts.”

Basile expects the Fed to jump in and help out the economy, announcing another round of quantitative easing at its Sept. 13 meeting.

“They tend to do their job, and their job in their eyes is to do what they need to do for the broader economy," he said. "The Bernanke Fed is not one to sit on its hands."

But Zandi does not expect the Fed to take immediate action, as it doesn’t have enough evidence that the economy is heading south.