Jobs affect political debate
Updated: October 8, 2012
CHAMPAIGN -- Voters in Central Illinois say they're divided on whom to
pick for president after the latest jobs report. The numbers look better
than they have in several years. But not everyone's convinced it means
we're making progress.
There's just one month to go before the presidential election. With an up-and-down economy on many Americans' minds, each candidate is rallying behind the latest job numbers.
The nationwide unemployment rate has settled at 7.8% and 140,000 jobs were created in August. President Obama said those are good signs.
"Certainly [it] is not an excuse to try to talk down the economy to score a few political points," said President Obama. "It's a reminder that this country has come too far to turn back now."
But Governor Romney is quick to point out, there's a long way to go to get America back on track.
"We've had 43 straight months with unemployment above 8%," said Governor Romney. "If I'm president I will create, help create, 12-million new jobs in this country with rising incomes."
Some voters said they don't like what they've seen the past four years and side with Romney.
"I think there's lots of room for improvement," said Gisela Schroeder, of Cullom. "I really do."
Others defend the president, saying the road to economic recovery may be long, but we're heading in the right direction.
"I'm happy the numbers are up," said Tom Gordon, of Champaign. "I think everyone should be happy. That's what we want. We want full employment."
The rest don't trust either choice.
"There are some superficial differences between them, but I don't really think either of them is really going to implement or fix those underlying structural problems that are causing unemployment to be so high," said Mark Daughterty, of Chicago.
The U.S. Department of Labor will release one more jobs report before the election. We'll find out those numbers just days before Americans head to the polls.
There's just one month to go before the presidential election. With an up-and-down economy on many Americans' minds, each candidate is rallying behind the latest job numbers.
The nationwide unemployment rate has settled at 7.8% and 140,000 jobs were created in August. President Obama said those are good signs.
"Certainly [it] is not an excuse to try to talk down the economy to score a few political points," said President Obama. "It's a reminder that this country has come too far to turn back now."
But Governor Romney is quick to point out, there's a long way to go to get America back on track.
"We've had 43 straight months with unemployment above 8%," said Governor Romney. "If I'm president I will create, help create, 12-million new jobs in this country with rising incomes."
Some voters said they don't like what they've seen the past four years and side with Romney.
"I think there's lots of room for improvement," said Gisela Schroeder, of Cullom. "I really do."
Others defend the president, saying the road to economic recovery may be long, but we're heading in the right direction.
"I'm happy the numbers are up," said Tom Gordon, of Champaign. "I think everyone should be happy. That's what we want. We want full employment."
The rest don't trust either choice.
"There are some superficial differences between them, but I don't really think either of them is really going to implement or fix those underlying structural problems that are causing unemployment to be so high," said Mark Daughterty, of Chicago.
The U.S. Department of Labor will release one more jobs report before the election. We'll find out those numbers just days before Americans head to the polls.
