Back in July, the President's chief political adviser inside
the White House, David Plouffe, told Bloomberg, "the average
American does not view the economy through the prism of GDP or
unemployment rates or even monthly jobs numbers. People won't
vote based on the unemployment rate, they're going to vote
based on 'How do I feel about my own situation? Do I believe
the president makes decisions based on me and my
family?'"
A look behind last week's unemployment numbers for August
reveals a bleak picture. While the continuing 9.1% unemployment
rate gets all the press, it's a few other statistics that
really stand out. For example, two constituencies that heavily
supported the president in the 2008 election continue to suffer.
The rate of unemployment among African-Americans and Hispanics
average – 16.7%, and 11.3% respectively –
continues to far exceed the national average. Also, the August jobs
report showed that the number of "underemployed"
Americans (i.e., people
