Last quarter’s GDP has just been revised down to 1.9%, job creation in May is not only down to 69,000 but at the lowest number in a year, and the unemployment rate shot up to 8.2% — making this the 40th month in a row over 8%. This isn’t just THE political news of the day, it’s an earthquake. But how does MSNBC’s unofficial web branch at Politico report the news? With this:
President Obama’s good news-bad news economy
President Barack Obama has watched a stubborn national economy dim his reelection chances.
But the real economic battle for election 2012 will take place in the states.
Some key battlegrounds are doing better than the nation as a whole. And even if the president’s policies didn’t cause the improvement, it could help his case that the economic outlook has brightened under his stewardship.
The state numbers take on an added significance after another weak jobs report Friday. The national rate inched up to 8.2 percent and the economy added just 69,000 jobs in May — well below expectations of 150,000. The unemployment rate for the nation isn’t likely to be much below 8 percent on Nov. 6 –and could be higher.
But auto and steel workers in battleground Ohio are getting jobs again. The unemployment rate in the state on Election Day is expected to be close to 7 percent.
If someone wanted to create a spoof of how Obama’s Media Palace Guards would attempt to spin and downplay the President’s economic failure, that would be it.
At least, though, Politico is covering it. As of this writing, a few hours after the release of the news, Ben Smith’s BuzzFeed Politics is ignoring the bad news completely.
Worse than Politico.
Good to have goals, I guess.
Shaming them is, of all outlets, NPR — who pulled no punches.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.