A Not So Perfect "10"

Just three days after voters handed Dems pink slips in NJ and VA, we learn this a.m. that unemployment has reach the dreaded double digits. And the spinning has already begun.

-- GOPers have been quick to jump on this as yet another example of the stimulus' failure. The WH, meanwhile, tried to find the silver lining, noting "the steady trend of moderating job loss that began last spring." And, will Dems be able to convince voters that the newly signed extension of unemployment benefits will actually help to "grow" jobs instead of simply helping those currently out of work?

-- Meanwhile, what do these new numbers mean for Pelosi's ability to wrangle 218 votes this wknd on health care? Even before the economic news hit, Pelosi was trying to bring her coalition together on abortion and immigration. Her struggle is yet another reminder of why a bigger majority does not guarantee an easy whip count. Every time she tries to satisfy one constituency, she risks alienating another.

-- But the longer Dems debate health care, the less attention they can give to the economy and jobs. In some ways, then, this news may be just what Dems need to put health care on the fast track.