

Linda Davidson / The Washington Post

President Obama has spent the past few weeks reminding voters all over the country that the economy is on the mend. "By almost every economic measure, we are better off today than we were when I took office," he said last month, a tribute to President Reagan's famously effective campaign slogan.

Obama is right. Home prices are up, stock prices are way up, and businesses keep on hiring. The economy is in the longest period of uninterrupted job growth ever. You might think that Thursday's quarterly report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis would bolster his case further. Gross domestic product grew a reasonable 3.5 percent last quarter, and while there were some worrisome points in the data, things certainly could be much worse.

If you have to go around telling people that they're better off, though, then you have a problem. Obama's problem is that recent economic growth has largely benefited the very rich, while median incomes and wages have hardly grown. That is, the middle class is actually worse off than when Obama took office. Only 42 percent of Americans approve of his handling of the economy, according to a new poll by The Washington Post-ABC News.

The reasons that the United States is becoming a less equal country are still being debated, and whatever they are, it's clear Americans are frustrated that they are not broadly enjoying the fruits of economic growth. Obama stopped talking about economic inequality this year, as polling data showed that the topic made people uncomfortable. This is America, after all.

But as Obama's approval ratings show, very few of us are comfortable with the current environment. Rather, voters are insisting on shared growth, and Obama is not longer openly espousing it. Even if talking too loudly about inequality might not be a winning strategy at the polls, enacting policies that actually reduce it will be. Democrats and Republicans alike should keep that point in mind as they formulate their agenda for the next two years.

What's in Wonkbook: 1) Economy grows 3.5 percent 2) Opinions: Japan's mistakes, Ben Bradlee and Kennedy, weather forecasts 3) Ebola nurse defies quarantine 4) Happy Halloween 5) Brookings's donors, state ballot initiatives, elections in Texas, health care in Mississippi and more

Number of the day: 20 percent. That's the proportion of early voters in Georgia, North Carolina, Colorado and Iowa who did not vote in the last election -- an encouraging sign for Democrats. Nate Cohn in The New York Times.

Chart of the day:

Democrats are just generally more skittish than Republicans, according to a survey on what Americans fear. The difference is especially noticeable with clowns, who are twice as likely to frighten Democrats. Christopher Ingraham for The Washington Post.

1. Top story: Some relatively good news on third quarter economic growth

Declining imports and increasing military spending drove growth. The economy grew at a modest pace -- a 3.5 percent annual rate -- despite turmoil abroad. Nick Timiraos in The Wall Street Journal.

Primary source: The full GDP release.

The economy had a fun summer, but what comes next? Much of the growth came from increasing exports, but American manufacturers could lose business if the dollar continues to gain value relative to other currencies. Meanwhile, other components of GDP were disappointing: personal spending and business investment remained subdued, and the housing market was still surprisingly weak. Neil Irwin in The New York Times.

All in all, the recovery continues to be predictably mediocre. Final sales to domestic purchasers, a figure which is less affected by winter weather and weakness overseas, has held steady at around 2 percent for the past two years. It was 2.4 percent this quarter, which might be the beginning of a real improvement if you're an optimist. Matt O'Brien in The Washington Post.

At least we don't live in Europe. With overseas economies faltering, the world is relying on the American recovery to drive global growth. There's one important caveat: "It's unclear if the United States can lift up other struggling economies -- or will be pulled down by them." Chico Harlan in The Washington Post.

2. Top opinions: Repeating Japan's mistakes, Ben Bradlee and JFK, health care, weather forecasts

KRUGMAN: Western economists owe Japan an apology. After criticizing the policies that allowed Japan to lose two decades of economic growth, economists in Europe and the United States saw their own countries make the exact same mistakes that Japan did -- but more aggressively. The New York Times.

KRAUTHAMMER: The midterm is referendum on an incompetent president. A series of failures at government agencies, an increasingly intrusive surveillance state, and a sense of America's weakness abroad will motivate citizens to vote against the president's party. So will an economy that has left most people unsatisfied. The Washington Post.

YORK: Ben Bradlee's relationship with President Kennedy compromised his integrity. A journalist can't be friends with the people he or she is responsible for covering impartially -- especially the most important people. Bradlee wanted Kennedy to be more than just a source. The Washington Examiner.

DELONG: While the rich are getting richer, the poor are getting better health care. It's difficult to say how much better off poor and middle-class Americans are. Incomes are growing rapidly for the wealthy, but health care provided by government makes up most of the difference for those in the economy's lower tiers. That's not much, but it's something. Project Syndicate.

KATHRYN MILES: We all depend on accurate weather forecasts, but Congress refuses to pay for them. The National Weather Service's communications systems are prone to malfunction. Hundreds of crucial posts are vacant, and the staff need additional training and resources. These problems make it less likely the service will issue accurate forecasts, which are an issue of national security. In a storm, we depend on them for our safety. The New York Times.

3. Nurse defies Ebola quarantine -- with a bike ride

Maine will take legal action to force Kaci Hickox to stay at home. The nurse -- who has tested negative for Ebola -- went for a bike ride on Thursday. Gov. Paul LePage said he would use his authority to force her to remain under quarantine. Mark Berman and Brady Dennis in The Washington Post.

A local pizzeria tried to deliver a pizza to Hickox. But it took about 20 hours. The Moose Shack wanted to thank Hickox for her work combating Ebola overseas, but lengthy negotiations with local police preceded the delivery. Sarah Kliff for Vox.

It's hard to know whether a judge would rule in favor of Hickox, who has retained a lawyer. Public health authorities have wide latitude to quarantine people who might be sick and contagious, but Hickox is healthy. Russell Berman in The Atlantic.

Hickox's stand will have consequences for health policy nationwide. Officials in other states will be watching closely to see where the courts say their authority begins and ends. In the meantime, the way Maine and New Jersey have treated Hickox since she flew home has been less than encouraging to other American doctors and nurses whose help West Africa urgently needs. Josh Sanburn in Time.

4. Happy Halloween!

Being scared feels good. Fright releases a set of pleasure-inducing hormones, which is one reason why so many people enjoy watching horror films. The Economist.

In Washington, people can't let the politics go, even for one night. The Government Furlough, the Binder Full of Women and Monica Lewinsky are examples of popular costumes in the nation's capital. Halloween presents a challenge this year, though, since none of the major stories in the news are all that funny. Ellen McCarthy in The Washington Post.

In Mexico, Halloween is not a joke. The Day of the Dead is a much more ghoulish holiday. The country's ancient inhabitants believed that there was no firm boundary dividing life from death, and death's ubiquitous presence in Mexican life in recent years makes that belief contemporary. This year, for example, authorities are still searching for the 43 students kidnapped by a cartel in Guerrero. Leon Krauze in The New Republic.

5. In case you missed it

Fundraising and expansion at Brookings have given donors a chance to try to set the agenda. Access to the elite institution's researchers is highly prized by lobbyists and their clients, but the think tank says that it still protects its scholars' independence, and that donors don't control the results of their work. Tom Hamburger and Alexander Becker in The Washington Post.

Voters will decide on several important ballot initiatives, from legalizing marijuana to funding transportation. There are also a few less important ones, such as the title of Montana's insurance commissioner, who is officially the "State Auditor." The legislature is asking voters for a second time whether they'll consider giving her a title that is less confusing. Josh Barro in The New York Times.

Texas's voting laws could be put under federal supervision once again. The Supreme Court struck down the part of the Voting Rights Act that automatically put much of the South's voting laws under federal supervision and gave the Department of Justice authority to veto new election laws in advance. The court, however, did not strike down another provision that gives judges the power to place states under this form of supervision if they engage in racial discrimination against voters. The district judge in Texas's most recent voter I.D. case has already laid out plenty of evidence that the state was doing so willfully, and a future hearing could restore the Justice Department's authority over Texas's elections. In other words, "the most important ruling in the case is yet to come." Richard Hasen for Talking Points Memo.

Mississippi is the one state where the uninsurance rate has gone up. "There are wide swaths of Mississippi where the Affordable Care Act is not a reality," one health official says. What went wrong? Incompetence, infighting and ideology hamstrung Obamacare in a state where many could have benefited from it. Sarah Varney in Politico Magazine with Kaiser Health News.

The so-called "outside groups" created by Citizens United are anything but. Campaigns coordinate openly with outside groups through loopholes in election law. In North Carolina, Thom Tillis's campaign issued a public memo describing in detail the campaign's strategic needs, a common tactic to get around laws barring coordination. In Oregon, one candidate's reported boyfriend ran an outside group on her behalf. Alex Roarty and Shane Goldmacher in National Journal.

Climate scientists are playing down the dangers of global warming. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is careful not to cause any controversy with its predictions. If you look carefully at its projections on sea level rise, for example, you find that its estimate for the increase in sea level is actually lower than what the data suggest. Chris Mooney in The Washington Post.