Jimmy Carter, The Economy, and Report Cards

On a very cold Monday night, in the middle of the country, in the state with reportedly the worst economic problems around, this was the scene in the lobby of Logan's restaurant, where people of all ages milled around for 45 minutes, waiting to be seated...

Can't imagine how long the wait is when there's an economic boom.  Seriously, can someone explain this to me?  The irony was that the TV in the bar was simultaneously running the headline "Obama's biggest problem:  the economy."  

And why were we there?  We endured the wait, surround by more peanuts than Jimmy Carter could imagine, to celebrate three great report cards.  In my book, that's worth dinner and dessert regardless of what's happening on Wall Street.