Good Economic News, but Democrats Differ on Whether to Take Credit – NYTimes.com.
WASHINGTON — Democrats would like some credit for the run of good economic news. Yet the better those reports are, the more divided the party has become over how — even whether — to take any.
In one camp are Democrats who argue that if they do not take some credit, they will continue to receive little. Others counter that boasting would backfire, infuriating millions of Americans who do not see the economy improving for them or their children.
Many, including President Obama, fall in the middle: still seeking to strike some balance, more than five years after the recovery officially began, between extolling progress and recognizing the pain that lingers.
The debate simmered behind the scenes for months leading to the midterm elections. It intensified afterward, as the defeated party scrambled for a new direction, and then again when the report of 321,000 new jobs in November confirmed that after 57 straight months of growth, employment gains were at their highest levels since the 1990s.
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