- WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Disappointing
job creation figures issued Friday were a sharp blow to President Bush,
making it much more difficult for him to argue on the campaign trail that
the economy has turned the corner, analysts and pollsters said.
-
- The Labor Department reported Friday that U.S. employers
added a meager 32,000 workers to payrolls last month, stunning Wall Street
economists who had forecast a gain of 228,000. The department also revised
job figures down by 61,000 for May and June.
-
- "This is not good news for the president, especially
since his approval ratings on the economy had begun to inch up a little
to around 47 or 48 percent," said Andrew Kohut of the Pew Research
Center.
-
- "It also comes at a very bad time, just when voters
have started to pay closer attention to the conditions they see around
them when they consider whether Bush deserves another four years,"
he said.
-
- While White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the
president was not satisfied with the jobs report, he attempted to put a
good face on it. "Today's employment report shows our economy is moving
forward and it also is a reminder that we're in a changing economy,"
McClellan said.
-
- Bush's Democratic challenger John Kerry blamed the low
job creation number on Bush's economic policies. "The president keeps
saying we've turned the corner. But unfortunately, today's job numbers
further demonstrate that our economy may be taking a U-turn instead.'
-
- The economy has lost a net 1.1 million jobs since Bush
took office, although he can point to 1.5 million jobs created since August
2003. But this latest jobs figure makes it almost impossible to make up
the net loss before the November election.
-
- Adding to the administration's woes, crude oil prices
are at a record high, which will soon be reflected at gas stations and
throughout the economy.
-
- "Pocketbook issues remain central to the way people
think about their voting decisions, even in a time of war. This kind of
figure could have a big impact," said Karlyn Bowman of the conservative
American Enterprise Institute.
-
- Polls show a tight election with Kerry possibly a nose
ahead. In 1992, economic issues sank Bush's father, former President George
Bush, in his campaign against Bill Clinton. But Bowman said that comparison
should not be overdrawn.
-
- 1992 WAS DIFFERENT
-
- In 1992, she said, the economy was just beginning to
emerge from a painful recession. This year, the younger Bush has argued
that his massive tax cuts prevented a deeper recession on his watch and
that things were getting better.
-
- In Columbus, Ohio on Thursday, Bush said: "The economy
is strong. There's more work to do. But remember, we created 1.5 million
new jobs in the last year."
-
- Kerry leads Bush by around 6 to 8 points in most polls
when voters are asked who could best handle the economy. In 1992, Clinton
led the elder Bush by a much greater margin.
-
- Still, pollster John Zogby said not much was going well
for Bush on the economy. "People are not feeling job growth in their
communities. The president's approval ratings on the economy are stuck
in the low 40s in my polling, which is not high enough for him to feel
any confidence," he said.
-
- Some analysts fault Kerry for not seizing on economic
issues aggressively enough at last week's Democratic National Convention
and said he needed to make a stronger case.
-
- "The reality is, Kerry has not picked up on this
opportunity very much. Now he has real ammunition but he needs to show
a clear alternative," said political scientist Robert Holsworth of
Virginia Commonwealth University.
-
- The figures are likely to infuse Democrats with renewed
confidence they can win many of the highly competitive swing states in
the Midwest, America's industrial heartland.
-
- Said University of Texas political scientist Bruce Buchanan:
"This is a golden opportunity for Kerry to seize the upper hand."
-
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