Is Obama manipulating the public by now claiming that the fundamentals of the economy are strong?

Yes I believe he is. That stimulus package was literally rammed through a co conspiratorial congress without any time necessary to even read the bill. And that biggest of big government spending sprees called "stimulus" needed all the doom and gloom, dire fear factor threats our new President could muster as a rational for all that waste and irrational spending. Even former president Clinton mused that our rookie newbie head of state should lighten up on all the negatives on the economy lest it actually negatively impact that all important DOW. Now to the trained observer a new tack is launched from the highest sources in the White House including a straw man attack upon Rush Limbaugh, clearly below the powerful levers of political power afforded a President in office. This seemed to be a diversionary move to divert attention away from a poor reception to said spending policies by business and the public at large. The first lady was thrown to the fawning media outlets yesterday as a stopgap praising her husband, hopefully lending a boost to Obama sagging numbers. Now, as you say, and rightly so, the President has tried to pull a complete 360 degree change of opinion of the once dire news on our economy. This clumsy, amateurish maneuver is clearly duplicitous and utterly manipulative in the extreme. However, that said, Obama as a politician has no corner on untrustworthy and manipulative tactics. These are unfortunately par for the course in today's sad state of American politics. It seems the muted warnings of this mans political inexperience and hidden agendas were all to true. But largely squelched by a sympathetic press who themselves have some answering to do in the one sided, clearly preferential treatment of our Amateur in Chief before the election. The next Executive Office election to correct this electoral mistake seems so very far away from now.