From the Christian Science Monitor:
Elected officials always claim credit when good things happen to the economy. And there is a connection between the powerful engines of government policy and the jobs that appear afterward. From 30,000 feet away, it looks as solid as a jet contrail. But the closer one gets to it, the more tenuous that connection looks, especially in the short term. That hasn't stopped candidates from taking credit anyway. On Wednesday, three Republican presidential candidates sparred over their records of job creation as governors. On Thursday evening, President Obama was scheduled to unveil his much anticipated jobs program. But really, is there much that any elected official can do? "On the margins, politicians can have an influence," says David Neumark, professor of economics and director of the Center for Economics and Public Policy at the University of California, Irvine. But "there's a lot of blame and credit that get thrown around and taken that are not merited."

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