Beltway commentary on the jobs report is thus far even more distressing than expected. The talking heads and autopilot pens are emphasizing the staggeringly obvious--in June, jobs creation was tepid--while somehow neglecting the even more obvious and, above all, the thunderingly relevant: that this Republican-dominated Congress has hobbled, handcuffed and shackled the president on jobs creation. So what in God's name did we expect?
This morning I have both read and heard in countless media venues that, and I quote, What President Obama is doing isn't working. Doing what? What can he do? Dissolve parliament, declare a benevolent dictatorship and then rummage the public treasury for his American Jobs Act?
This jobs report is a political problem--not a symptom of failed, Obamian economics. His economics "work" just fine; it's his anti-recovery opponents in Congress who are in critical need of a wholesale public heaving.
That's the story--and for the conventionally wise ones to cover the economics of these economics rather than the politics of these economics is just plain, journalistic malpractice.
My understanding, from reading comments elsewhere, is that Chuck Todd actually asked someone if they thought the GOP was creating the economic slowdown. I don't know whom he was asking, but the answer was "Yes." Now Todd may have sounded skeptical when asking the question, but the fact the question was asked is itself important. Perhaps the media is starting to believe the stuff that was taught in journalism school. And perhaps I am indulging in wishful thinking.
Posted by: japa21 | July 06, 2012 at 11:10 AM
Leave it to the Republicans (and the MSM) to make lemons out of lemonade. Friends, it was an increase in jobs, albeit a small increase...but, never-the-less, we had increases in almost every month since 2010. I could be paranoid and think that businesses are holding off hiring until they see who wins the election, but the fact is that it's government jobs taking the biggest hit, especially in states governed by Republicans.
Posted by: SueMe | July 06, 2012 at 12:34 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOXtWxhlsUg
To put it another way.
Posted by: Jumper | July 06, 2012 at 01:11 PM
It was Krugman who suggested recently that there are "Manchurian candidates" on the right attempting to literally destroy the U.S. economy. My own view is that some actually see themselves as characters out of Atlas Shrugged, and that in this sense Krugman is correct.
Posted by: Jumper | July 06, 2012 at 01:15 PM