Unemployment Drop Could Impact the Election

NBC News-First Read - 10/05/2012

A month ago, after what was considered a strong Democratic convention and a subpar one for Republicans, the Romney campaign eagerly looked to the monthly jobs report to change the subject. Now the dynamic is reversed: After what was considered Romney's strong debate performance and Obama's subpar one, Democrats were looking to today's job numbers for some good news. Did they get it? The results are pretty good for them: The unemployment rate fell to 7.8% -- the first time it’s been below 8% since Jan. 2009. These monthly jobs numbers have  very  little impact on the public. Yet they have had a bigger impact on the tone of the political coverage in a 24- to 48-hour period, and that helps the Obama campaign change the subject from Wednesday night’s debate. Read more.

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