8.3% unemployment - look past the headline.

No joy.

There may be joy in Mudville today about an 8.3% unemployment rate, but that doesn't mean the mighty Obama hasn't struck out.  Look past the headline for some perspective on the unemployment situation.

The economy created jobs at the fastest pace in nine months in January and the unemployment rate dropped to a near three-year low of 8.3 percent, providing some measure of comfort for President Barack Obama who faces re-election in November.

Nonfarm payrolls jumped 243,000, the Labor Department said on Friday, as factory jobs grew by the most in a year. The gain in overall employment was the largest since April and outpaced economists' expectations for a rise of only 150,000.

The report pointed to underlying strength in the economy, despite expectations that growth will slow in the first quarter.

Economists had expected the jobless rate to hold steady at 8.5 percent. The rate is the lowest since February 2009 and has dropped 0.8 percentage point since August.

What's the real story beyond the headlines?

Catholic? Happy with this?

Via WSJ:

The White House said Thursday it has no plans to reverse course on its decision to require that all employers cover contraception in their insurance plans, despite a wave of criticism from Republicans and Catholic leaders.

After a bruising week for health officials on the issue, the White House arranged a conference call with reporters to address what it called “confusion” over the policy. It also put up a blog post by Cecilia Munoz, director of the House Domestic Policy Council, pointing out that “no individual health care provider will be forced to prescribe contraception” and “no individual will be forced to buy or use contraception.”

And White House press secretary Jay Carney said at Thursday’s afternoon briefing that there was “not a debate” over reversing the decision. “The decision has been made, and it was made after careful consideration,” he said.

Especially in light of this;

The world's leading breast cancer charity, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, struggled on Thursday to defuse a growing crisis over its decision to cut funding for Planned Parenthood, which provides abortion and birth control services.

The sudden rift between the two top U.S. women's health advocacy groups triggered a furious debate on social media sites between supporters and opponents of abortion rights.

Democratic lawmakers called on Komen to reconsider its move as the organization was thrust into the center of an intractable dispute that some say will hamper its work for years to come.

And much more importantly, the ridiculous hypocrisy of this;

This morning, at the National Prayer Breakfast, Barack Obama cited Scripture as justification for his policy agenda — from reforming health care to ensuring that financial institutions play by fair rules to taxing the rich.

Catholic?  Vote liberal?  Time for a re-think of either your vote or your religion.  You can't do both. 

Trump card Romney

Um, yeah.  Donald Trump endorsed Mitt Romney.  I'm not sure who that benefits the most; Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Donald Trump or Barack Obama.  There's a reason to believe each.

Trump to endorse Gingrich.

No really.

Word started leaking out in Las Vegas earlier that Donald Trump's "major announcement" is to back Newt Gingrich, and sources are confirming it to POLITICO.

The announcement is expected to come at an 11:30 a.m. press conference tomorrow that The Donald is holding.

The move is a bit unexpected, since Trump had talked even within the last few days about how he may be compelled to run a third-party campaign of his own if he didn't see a Republican candidate who he thought could beat President Obama...

Trump was courted repeatedly by several of the GOP hopefuls. Gingrich, when he was soaring in his first rise before the Iowa caucuses, made a trek to Trump's Fifth Avenue office in Manhattan to ask for his support.

I would say it probably doesn't matter but it is pre-Nevada-primary.  Still, it sounds like either a gamble or a bluff.  Gingrich is still the underdog, and Trump repeatedly threatened to run third party if the Republicans did not find a suitable nominee (whatever that might mean).

Electability is not a winning general election message

Mitt Romney has a 50-something point economic plan.  Can you name any one of the points?  Can you remember 9-9-9?  That guy isn't even in the race anymore, but he had a message that could be distilled down to something simple.  Mitt Romney's talking points perhaps could be distilled down but they aren't being simplified like that.  Why not?

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