Hassett's saying the gap between what polls measure and what people actually do with their money proves the economy is booming. Hotels, flights, cars, consumer confidence in action. Except this inverts cause and effect. Yes, people travel and spend. That doesn't mean they feel good about the economy. It might mean they're spending because credit is still flowing, incomes haven't collapsed yet, or they're extracting remaining savings before things get worse. Hassett is reading consumer behavior as economic proof when he should be reading it as the lag time before reality catches up.