This Morning’s Jobs Report Won’t Impact The Election—But The Right’s Insane Reaction To It Will

by evanmcmurry

I’m thoroughly enjoying the Unemployment Truthers, who are accusing the BLS of manipulating this morning’s jobs report to swing the election to Obama, not only because it makes no sense—have the underwhelming jobs reports of the past five months all been part of the setup?—but also because, as I noted yesterday, the jobs reports have thus far had no impact on the election. And still won’t: don’t expect to see Obama’s poll numbers bounce from this morning’s report, as the slow upward trend of his approval rating over the past six months, which has mirrored the slow rise in GDP, is the reaction to the improving economy. We now have firm data to back up the slow but steady improvement that’s been palpable to the general public for some time, and is the reason why Romney’s “sit back and let the economy tank” election strategy has failed. That’s all already happened; this morning’s numbers are a footnote to reality, not an incitement of it.

But the Truthers are stepping on their own tail: the more they harp about how the BLS cooked the numbers, the clearer it becomes that the right is rooting for a bad economy. Obama can use that, plus the report, on the campaign trail to help seal the election: “Hey, if you want to elect the party that’s lighting Paul Ryan votive candles every night that unemployment goes up, vote Republican.” In this case, it’s not the jobs report that will have an effect on the election, but the right’s insane reaction to it.