The second reveals the financial industry’s failure adequately to mobilize society’s risk-bearing capacity for the service of enterprise. The 2012 election should be a referendum between two visions of America. For Romney, who was thrown off message this week by supporter Donald Trump’s return to the birther cause, the jobs report is a welcome chance to highlight his own economic message.
– You don't have to look at the sinking Dow—which is now in negative territory for the year—to get a sense of just how bleak today's jobs report was. A glance at financial blogs offers a depressing reminder: Felix Salmon, Reuters: It's "about as bad the jobs report could possibly be." We're in a crisis, and the government's response should be clear: Borrow money at the low rates now available and re-invest in the economy through infrastructure spending, etc. Unfortunately, "Obama is bizarrely reluctant to talk about anything which rhymes with 'stimulus.' As a result, the current dysfunction—and horribly weak jobs market—is likely to persist for far too long." David Leonhardt, New York Times: The report is "terrible" and marks the third straight year of a spring slump. "What happens now? Don’t expect much action from Congress, despite the talk you will hear. The jobs numbers will certainly raise the odds of further action by the Federal Reserve, but it’s not clear by how much. Perhaps most important, the decisions of European policy makers loom even larger now." From the right: It's an "unmitigated flop," writes Ed Morrissey at Hot Air. "There is no positive spin that can be put on this report. It’s an indictment of Obama’s stagnation and incompetence at economics." From the left: "There’s no sugar-coating Friday’s report: It’s bad," writes Benjy Sarlin at Talking Points Memo. "That makes President Obama’s job that much harder as he tries to gain the upper hand against Mitt Romney on the economy." Swing states are doing better, "but it’s an open question how much of a cushion that will give him if the national recovery continues to slow down."