Esme's Blog: Obama, Romney And The Economy
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Now that Mitt Romney has seized a decisive and what appears to be an insurmountable lead in the race to win the Republican nomination, new unemployment numbers are casting doubt as to the strength of the recovery.
New numbers show that the nation's unemployment rate is 8.2 percent, a gain of one-tenth of a percent from the previous month, but not as strong a gain as in previous months. "It's the economy stupid," was the mantra of Bill Clinton's campaign in 1992 as he ran to oust President G.W. Bush. We all know who won that election.
As President Obama gears up for his reelection bid, he will have to deal with the question that unseated another incumbent President. Ronald Reagan asked Americans in 1980 if they were better off than they were four years earlier. Jimmy Carter lost that election because most Americans answered that question with a resounding "no."
It's the question that could bring an end to the Obama Presidency. The winner of this election will be the candidate who can convince voters they have the key to an economic turnaround. And there the edge goes to the Republicans, quite simply because President Obama has already had four years to try.
