Politics
After Jobs Report, Obama Takes a Little Credit
In this Monday, Oct. 6, 2014 photo, job seekers fill out forms before being interviewed during a job fair at Fontainebleau Miami Beach in Miami Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
Mark Landler, THE NEW YORK TIMES
WASHINGTON (The New York Times)—Before introducing his nominee to fill the job of defense secretary, President Obama took a moment on Friday to celebrate the creation of 321,000 additional jobs in November. It was as close to a victory lap on the economy that Mr. Obama has taken.
“It’s worth us every once in a while reflecting on the fact that the American economy is making real progress,” the president said, after ticking off a series of monthly and annual statistics for job growth that the American economy has not experienced since the 1990s.
Among the criticisms leveled at the White House, by former administration officials and Democrats on Capitol Hill, is that Mr. Obama has not taken enough credit for the good things that have occurred on his watch. Nowhere has that reluctance been more evident than in his cautious reaction to a string of strong jobs reports.
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