While Joe Biden tries selling the White House spin of “Recovery Summer,” American consumers remain locked in the doldrums.  The latest Rasmussen survey on consumer confidence, released today, shows that measure hitting its lowest level since December.  The employment index also returned to its lowest point since January as Rasmussen reported earlier in the week, before the release of the DoL’s unemployment report for July:

The plunge in consumer confidence has been dramatic over the last couple of weeks:

The Rasmussen Consumer Index, which measures the economic confidence of consumers on a daily basis, fell to its lowest level since December 3, 2009 on Sunday. At 70.0, consumer confidence is down four points from yesterday and down nine points from its level a week ago. The index is also down six points over the past month.

After over a week of steady gains, the Rasmussen Investor Index, which measures the economic confidence of investors on a daily basis, dropped seven points today to 77.5. The index has now fallen 20 points over the course of the past three days. Confidence is down 10 points over the past week and down six points from a month ago. The index is currently just a point shy of the lowest level recorded this year.

Only 8% of adults nationwide rate that the U.S. economy as good or excellent, while 58% rate it as poor. About a quarter (24%) of Americans feel economic conditions in the country are getting better, but 54% think they’re getting worse.

Among investors, 8% give the economy a good or excellent rating; 55% rate the economy poorly. Twenty-nine percent (29%) say the economy is getting better while 49% say it is getting worse.

Both the consumer and investor indices are now lower than the same time last year. At 70, the consumer index is down six points from last year’s 76.4, while the investor index is down 2.7 points from last year’s 80.2 to 77.5.  The employment index isn’t as bad, at 68.7 from last year’s 57.8, but still down from June’s 73.8.

It’s not Recovery Summer at all, but instead the dawning realization by Americans that all the Obama administration has in its playbook is gimmicks and spin — really expensive gimmicks and spin.