Right On Time

I've said this before, but the bottom line for the Democrats with regard to the upcoming Mid-Term elections is jobs creation. Health Care Reform, Finance Reform, and all the other "Reforms" won't mean squat if this economy didn't start creating jobs by the Spring of 2010.

Well, Spring is here, and so are the jobs:

The US economy created 162,000 jobs last month as the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 9.7 per cent, the government said on Friday, bolstering hopes that the economic recovery is gathering steam.

Temporary hiring by the government for the census only accounted for some 48,000 new jobs in March, meaning the private sector has begun churning out new positions.

Economists had expected non-farm payrolls to grow by about 200,000 positions, but they had factored in about 80,000 in temporary census hiring. ***

In addition, the figures for January and February 2010 have been revised and now show a net total of 62,000 positions.

Clearly, this is good news for the Democrats. As far as the Mid-Term elections are concerned, jobs creation needed to start now -- as opposed to this summer -- because the American people need time to get accustomed to the fact that our economy is on the mend and folks are being hired again.

Although the unemployment rate has remained steady at 9.7%, the truth is that our economy would have to create 200,000 jobs a month for an entire year just to reduce the rate by one point, meaning the Dems will probably be stuck with a high unemployment rate for quite awhile. Oh well.

By the way, Obama was on CBS this morning, and he was asked about the level of enmity on talk radio right now. Here is what he had to say:

"Well, I think, when you listen to Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck, it's pretty apparent, and it's troublesome." But, you know, keep in mind that there have been periods in American history where this kind of vitriol comes out. It happens often when you've got an economy that's making people more anxious, but that's not the vast majority of Americans."

Obama also stated that those Americans know he wants what's best for the country and that he is trying to do what's right, even if they disagree with him. He's clearly trying to take the high road here, and although I've been critical of him for keeping an even keel and not getting angry enough at all the bullshittery, I think I understand what he is trying to do.

Obama truly believes that things will eventually calm down in this country, and he doesn't seem to want to burn any bridges by aggressively going after the folks who wish him nothing but ill right now. He's acting presidential. Let's see if this strategy pays off in the long term.