After a first year mainly focused on health reform, and a bleak December 2009 employment report, the Obama administration was finally ready to talk, in Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel’s words, about “jobs, jobs, jobs.” Strategist David Axelrod admitted the Obama team was recalibrating to focus on the economy. President Obama said, “We have to continue to work every single day to get our economy moving again. For most Americans, and for me, that means jobs.”
Six months later, following additional health-reform drama, arcane financial reform, a national immigration debate and a sluggish oil spill response, 67 percent of Americans said the president had not focused enough on job creation.
Full story: Michael Gerson – Obama’s wandering economic message