Matt Bai explores the rush to claim credit for Ohio's recovery – and what it illuminates about our hazy understanding of job creation:
While most of the debate nationally still revolves around why the economy remains so pathetic, there are several pivotal states — Ohio, Florida, Nevada, Virginia — where things are slowly turning around. In these states, the real issue may not be who deserves blame for economic ruin but rather who deserves credit for a rebound, and what really causes jobs to come back after they’ve been lost. Republican governors are saying that unemployment rates have plummeted because of their pro-business policies. The president is saying that the hard decisions he made earlier in his term are finally starting to pay off. And then there’s Mitt Romney, a congenital optimist who finds himself in the uncomfortable position of having to be a total downer, arguing that there really isn’t a recovery at all. “Trust Me: You’re Still Miserable”could be Romney’s bumper sticker in Ohio.
Jared Bernstein sketches out where credit should fall:
[P]ols will always take credit for jobs on their watch—and try to point elsewhere re job losses. But outside of recession, I wouldn’t take it too seriously. In recession, the President is very important, and President Obama comes across as effectively stepping up to this plate in the Bai story re Ohio. In expansions, govs and mayors don’t have much at all to do with the number of jobs the economy generates, but if they’re smart in terms of investments in public goods, they can draw more of those jobs to their states and cities.
The Dish 