If there is "opportunity in crisis" as our president and most of his administration has said at one time or another, then that window of opportunity may be closing for Obama to remake the United States:

Although you wouldn't know it from the behavior of the stock market, the economic outlook is turning just a bit less gloomy. Prosperity may not be just around the corner, but statistical evidence is mounting to suggest that the worst of this recession may soon be past.

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But you want more than assertions; you want proof. And here it is:

• The Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators has risen for two months in a row.
• Producer prices have increased for two straight months.
• Consumer prices rose in January -- the first monthly gain in six months.
• The Baltic Dry Index, which measures the cost of shipping key raw materials like copper, steel and iron, has more than doubled from its recent lows.
• Existing-home sales rose in December, and participants in our weekly survey think that another rise took place in January.
• Pending home sales went up in December.
• Builders' confidence inched up this month.
• Thanks to lower interest rates, applications for both new mortgages and refinancings of existing mortgages are rising.
• Real hourly earnings rose 4.5% in December following a 3.3% increase in November.
• An index of consumer expectations rose in January.
• Retail sales shot up by 1% in January -- the first monthly rise since June.