Dispatches Recommended by William McGurn:
In and of itself, an unemployment figure will not drive voters one way or the other. As others were quick to point out, however, that should be of little consolation to the Obama White House. For the question that [White House advisor David] Plouffe should be worried about is how people think the unemployment figure affects themselves and their hopes for the future. Ronald Reagan understood this well, which is why his question at the end of his only debate with Jimmy Carter was so devastating:
“When you make [your decision to vote next Tuesday],” he said to the American people, “it might be well if you would ask yourself: Are you better off than you were four years ago? Is it easier for you to go and buy things in the stores than it was four years ago? Is there more or less unemployment in the country than there was four years ago? Is America as respected throughout the world as it was?”
