Grade D+
“President Obama didn’t get to celebrate the creation of 163,000 new jobs because the (perhaps) all-important unemployment rate ticked up and rounded off to 8.3 percent, up from 8.2 percent the month before.
“While American athletes are eating up those medals in London, Mr. Obama’s own numbers were still lacking. He may have turned 51 in years, but he is only at 47 percent in job approval and struggling in some key states. He also is five points lower in his head-to-head matchup with Republican Mitt Romney than he was against John McCain in the first week of August in 2008.
“But losing control of the unemployment story even when job growth was OK is not a good sign. I have written this before: August has been a cruel month for Democrats running for president — including the current Democrat. He’s already off to a lousy month.”
Last week’s grade: B
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