(Photo: Getty)

Earlier today, there was a rare bit of good economic news with the announcement that job creation broke out in February as the United States' unemployment rate fell from 7.9 percent to 7.7 percent. This morning, however, Mr. Bloomberg urged the public to ignore the widely discussed unemployment number and instead look at the raw job total nationwide--a net increase of 246,000 new jobs last month.

"The unemployment number is relatively meaningless," Mr. Bloomberg said during his weekly interview with John Gambling. "It is the number of people who have jobs--the number of jobs. I think the national economy is doing a little bit better. Not going down, it is going up a little bit better, [but] nowhere near fast enough to give jobs to a lot of the people who want them. And a lot of the people who have dropped out of the workforce [are] saying, 'I'm never getting a job, I'm not going to even look.' Then you don't get  counted. ... That's why the unemployment number is bad--is not really a good indicator."

The mayor went on to use New York City's unemployment rate--higher than the nation as a whole at 9.1 percent in January--as an example to press his case.

"In New York City, the unemployment number has gone up a little bit and it's good because there's a lot more people looking for jobs. We have a record number of people working," he said. "People are getting jobs and then people come to New York City looking for jobs. ... If you have more people looking for jobs, then it's a good number to go up. If it's fewer people looking for jobs and it goes up, it's a bad thing. [But] that's done by phone surveys and nobody really knows how accurate they are. The number of people actually working are real numbers. So that's what you can judge."

President Barack Obama delivering his State of the Union address this evening. (Photo: Getty)

President Obama included his discussion of environmental issues and climate change after outlining initiatives to grow manufacturing jobs and before discussing plans to improve national infrastructure and help home owners. He closed this portion of his speech by describing all of these proposals as potentially spurring job growth.

"These initiatives in manufacturing, energy, infrastructure, and housing will help entrepreneurs and small business owners expand and create new jobs," President Obama said in the prepared version of his remarks.

Sandwiched in between his policies on manufacturing jobs, road and bridge construction and housing, President Obama expressed a need for the government to "do more to combat climate change." To bolster this argument, he cited several weather events, including Hurricane Sandy."

"Yes, it’s true that no single event makes a trend. But the fact is, the 12 hottest years on record have all come in the last 15. Heat waves, droughts, wildfires, and floods--all are now more frequent and intense," said the president. "We can choose to believe that Superstorm Sandy, and the most severe drought in decades, and the worst wildfires some states have ever seen were all just a freak coincidence. Or we can choose to believe in the overwhelming judgment of science--and act before it’s too late."

President Obama went on to call for a "bipartisan, market-based solution to climate change" that would "make meaningful progress on this issue while driving strong economic growth." Specifically, he called for expanding solar and wind energy initiatives, fastracking oil and gas permits to take advantage of a "natural gas boom" that he said has "led to cleaner power and greater energy independence" and funding research and technology to help natural gas burn "even cleaner." He also proposed using oil and gas revenues from public lands to "fund an Energy Security Trust that will drive new research and technology to shift our cars and trucks off oil for good." He hinted this was also a good economic move by noting it was supported by "a non-partisan coalition of CEOs and retired generals and admirals."

The President also stuck with the strategy of casting his policies on more controversial issues in terms of potential economic benefit when he brought up immigration.

"Our economy is stronger when we harness the talents and ingenuity of striving, hopeful immigrants," President Obama said. "And right now, leaders from the business, labor, law enforcement, and faith communities all agree that the time has come to pass comprehensive immigration reform."

On this front, President Obama said he would push for "strong border security" and for "establishing a responsible pathway to earned citizenship" including background checks, taxes and penalties, English language requirements and prioritization for those who have been attempting to come to the U.S. through legal channels. He closed his call for immigration reform by citing another potential economic benefit--an influx of "highly-skilled" workers.
 
"Real reform means fixing the legal immigration system to cut waiting periods, reduce bureaucracy, and attract the highly-skilled entrepreneurs and engineers that will help create jobs and grow our economy," said President Obama.
 
President Obama closed his speech by bringing up another potentially controversial issue, gun control. Though he didn't turn to economic arguments to support his plans for increased regulation of firearms, he framed the issue as a question of securing the safety of the nation's children, and as a result, far more important to the future of the nation than any plan to improve America's financial situation.

"Of course, what I’ve said tonight matters little if we don’t come together to protect our most precious resource--our children," the president began. "It has been two months since Newtown. I know this is not the first time this country has debated how to reduce gun violence. But this time is different. Overwhelming majorities of Americans ... have come together around commonsense reform."

President Obama said these "commonsense" gun control reforms include background checks and banning high-capacity magazines.

"Each of these proposals deserves a vote in Congress. If you want to vote no, that’s your choice. But these proposals deserve a vote," President Obama said. "Because in the two months since Newtown, more than a thousand birthdays, graduations, and anniversaries have been stolen from our lives by a bullet from a gun."
 
Though President Obama took on climate change, immigration reform and gun control in his speech, there were two notable hot-button issues he didn't address; gay marriage and abortion. The president only briefly alluded to gay and lesbian issues once in his speech when he described efforts to take care of the country's armed forces and cited the plan announced yesterday to provide benefits to same-sex spouses of servicemembers as an example of his administration's commitment to the troops.

"We must to protect those who serve their country abroad, and we will maintain the best military in the world," said the president. "We will invest in new capabilities, even as we reduce waste and wartime spending. We will ensure equal treatment for all service members, and equal benefits for their families--gay and straight."

Reproductive rights and the abortion debate were not mentioned at all in the president's speech. However, issue featured prominently in Senator Marco Rubio's Republican response to the State of the Union, which began on a loud, pro-life note.

"The State of the Union address is always a reminder of how unique America is," Mr. Rubio said. "But America is exceptional, because we believe that every life, at every stage, is precious."

Tom DiNapoli

New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli estimates the damage from Hurricane Sandy could cost the state at least $18 million. Mr. DiNapoli announced his estimate in a statement this afternoon.

"My office’s preliminary estimate of economic losses due to the storm ranges from $15 billion to $18 billion. Our daily infrastructure of highways, power, sewer and water--the elements of modern life that we take for granted--have all been altered by this storm," Mr. DiNapoli said. "Though the rebuilding effort may offset some of these losses, we must continue to monitor what the long-term economic impact to New York will be."

Mr. DiNapoli based his estimate on "initial assessments in relation to previous natural disasters." His statement noted this estimate is "speculative" as economic losses will include disruption to business and property loss that was not included in other estimates and there are many "unresolved economic variables" including the duration of power outages and the full effect of flooding on infrastructure and the environment.

In compiling his estimate, Mr. DiNapoli cited disruption in the financial sector, damage to infrastructure, potential disruption in tourism and flooding, including at contaminated sites like Newtown Creek and the Gowanus Canal where "the full extent of environmental hazards is yet to be determined."

While Mr. DiNapoli noted federal assistance will cover the cost of emergency public transportation and power restoration, he expressed his support for the efforts being made by Governor Cuomo, Senators Schumer and Gillibrand, and the New York delegation for federal reimbursement for all repair and recovery costs. He has also notified state agencies his office is expediting approval of contracts and payments for hurricane recovery work.

"The sooner we get contractors on the ground to assist residents and business owners, the faster New York will be back on its feet," Mr. DiNapoli said.

Mr. DiNapoli is also directing his office to prepare a more comprehensive report of hurricane-related costs as more information becomes available.

Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama on stage at Lynn University in Florida for tonight's debate. (Photo: Getty)

Tonight's presidential debate was ostensibly about foreign policy, but on stage in Boca Raton, the candidates spent quite a bit of time discussing the American economy. The discussion first turned homeward when moderator Bob Schieffer asked Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama, "What is America's role in the world?"

Mr. Romney began by saying America has the "responsibility and the privilege" to "defend freedom and promote the principles that...make the world more peaceful," including "human rights, human dignity, free enterprise, freedom of expression, elections."

"We recognize that there are places of conflict in the world. We want to end those conflicts to the extent humanly possible. But in order to be able to fulfill our role in the world, America must be strong. America must lead. And for that to happen, we have to strengthen our economy here at home," Mr. Romney said. "You can't have 23 million people struggling to get a job. You can't have an economy that over the last three years keeps slowing down its growth rate. You can't have kids coming out of college, half of them can't find a job today, or a job that's commensurate with their college degree. We have to get our economy going."

When it was President Obama's turn to take the question, he discussed his domestic economic plan in even more specific detail after saying one of his signature accomplishments, ending the war in Iraq, had improved America's position both globally and locally.

"Because we ended the war in Iraq, we were able to refocus our attention on not only the terrorist threat, but also beginning a transition process in Afghanistan. It also allowed us to refocus on alliances and relationships that had been neglected for a decade. And Governor Romney, our alliances have never been stronger," President Obama said. “But what we also have been able to do is position ourselves so we can start rebuilding America, and that's what my plan does."

President Obama went on to detail several elements of his economic plan.

"Making sure that we're bringing manufacturing back to our shores so that we're creating jobs here, as we've done with the auto industry, not rewarding companies that are shipping jobs overseas. Making sure that we've got the best education system in the world, including retraining our workers for the jobs of tomorrow," said President Obama. "Doing everything we can to control our own energy. We've cut our oil imports to the lowest level in two decades because we've developed oil and natural gas. But we also have to develop clean energy technologies that will allow us to cut our exports in half by 2020. That's the kind of leadership that we need to show."

The president continued by criticizing Mr. Romney's economic policies.

"Unfortunately, Governor Romney's plan doesn't do it. We've got to do it in a responsible way by cutting out spending we don't need, but also asking the wealthiest to pay a little bit more. That way we can invest in the research and technology that's always kept us at the cutting edge," said President Obama. "Now, Governor Romney has taken a different approach throughout this campaign. Both at home and abroad, he has proposed wrong and reckless policies. He's praised George Bush as a good economic steward and Dick Cheney as somebody who's -- who shows great wisdom and judgment. And taking us back to those kinds of strategies that got us into this mess are not the way that we are going to maintain leadership in the 21st century."

When Mr. Schieffer gave Mr. Romney a chance to rebut, he brought up the country's unemployment rate and promised to get America's economy going with his five point plan.

"The president said by now we'd be a 5.4 percent unemployment. We're 9 million jobs short of that. I will get America working again and see rising take-home pay again, and I'll do it with five simple steps," Mr. Romney said.

Mr. Romney described his economic plan as involving "North American energy independence," increased trade, particularly with Latin America, "training programs that work for our workers and schools," which put "the teachers and the kids first" and make teacher's unions "have to go behind." balance the budget and "champion small business."

The pair launched into discussions of their specific disagreements with each other's policies including their respective tax plans and President Obama's desire to "hire more teachers." Though the debate included substantial discussion of Libya, Syria, Israel, Iran, Afghanistan, Russia and China, this first exchange was hardly the only time the candidates kept their focus on the home front. Tonight's debate mainly stuck to the topic at hand, foreign policy, but it still underscored just how much domestic economic questions are central to this campaign.

Mitt Romney

This morning, Mitt Romney's campaign policy director Lanhee Chen, his deputy communications director for media affairs Kristy Campbell held a conference call with the press to "discuss the latest in a series of devastating economic news and President Obama’s record of failing to put America back on a path to prosperity."

However, all three of the questions from reporters on the call were about what Mr. Romney's position is on President Barack Obama's newly announced immigration policy. Despite the clear connections between immigration policy and the job market, the Romney campaign staffers repeatedly dismissed the questions as "off topic" before ending the call entirely.

On Friday, President Barack Obama issued an executive order that will halt deportations for many young undocumented immigrants and increase the number of work permits issued to them. In an appearance on CBS' Face The Nation Sunday. Mr. Romney avoided directly answering whether he'd repeal the order instead saying he's focused on an unspecified "long-term solution."

All three of the reporters who were allowed to ask questions on today's economic policy call tried to figure out what that solution would be. A reporter from Sirius XM was the third and final member of the press corps who attempted to get Mr. Chen to address whether Mr. Romney thinks the executive order on immigration is good economic policy.

"President Obamas' executive order that allowed some 800,000 illegal immigrants to remain in the country, in your view Lanhee, will that help or would that hurt the U.S. economy?" the reporter asked.

Mr. Chen declined to answer, but he promised Mr. Romney would outline his position on immigration policy in his speech tomorrow at the conference of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials.

"Governor Romney is going to address immigration tomorrow when he addresses NALEO and it's an important issue and I hope you'll stay tuned to the governor's remarks," said Mr. Chen.

With that, though The Politicker was queued up to ask a question, Ms. Campbell concluded the call by claiming that it appeared there were no more questions.

"It sounds like we don't have anymore questions on today's topic, we appreciate everyone having the opportunity to dial in today," she said.

President Obama

At a fundraiser in Maryland today, President Barack Obama criticized the core message of Mitt Romney's campaign as simplistic.

"Because folks are still hurting right now, the other side feels that its enough for them to just sit back and say, 'Things aren’t as good as they should be and it’s Obama’s fault,'" the president said. "You can pretty much put their campaign on, on a tweet and have some characters to spare."

The bulk of the attacks made by Mr. Romney's campaign since he secured the Republican nomination have characterized the sluggish economic recovery as the result of failed policies instituted by President Obama. At today's fundraiser, the president said he remains confident the nation's voters are on his side.

"The good news is, the American people generally agree with our vision," said President Obama. "If you just put in front of them, issue after issue and you present the Democratic approach and the Republican approach, we win."

He also claimed other countries would be glad to be in America's economic situation.

"There's not a country that wouldn't trade places with us," President Obama said.

Mitt Romney

"The president has the most anti-business, anti-investment, anti-jobs administration I think I've ever seen," Mr. Romney said.

Sitting in Florida in front of a sign that said "Repeal and Replace Obamacare," Mr. Romney said the "doing fine" comment was one of several that shows President Obama is "out of touch with what's happening across America."

"He's had a number of very revealing comments that show just how far out of touch he is with the rest of the country. Yesterday, he said, among other things, that he didn't realize that Obamacare is having any impact on small business," said Mr. Romney. "I'd acquaint him with a survey that was done by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that asked small businesses how Obamacare's affecting them, 75 percent, three quarters of them, said it was less likely for them to hire people because of Obamacare."

Mr. Romney also responded to the Obama campaign's recent web video citing a statement he made that he would "cut back on government" while President Obama wants "more firemen, more policemen, more teachers" as evidence Mr. Romney would eliminate many of these jobs. He said it was "completely absurd" for the Obama campaign to claim he would cut firemen, policemen and teachers as a result of this statement.

"That's a very strange accusation, of course, teachers, and firemen and policemen are hired at the local level and also by states. The federal government doesn't pay for teachers, firefighters or policemen, so obviously, that's completely absurd," said Mr. Romney. "He's got a new idea though and that is to have another stimulus and to have the federal government send money to try and bail out cities and states. It didn't work the first time and it certainly wouldn't work the second time."

Mr. Romney also addressed the Obama campaign's persistent attacks on his career with the private equity firm Bain Capital. He said people want to see politicians with private sector experience because businesspeople know how to create jobs.

"I think people understand that we have a free enterprise system in America and that the right course for America is to encourage free enterprise," Mr. Romney said. "Small business, big business, we want people to hire."

Mr. Romney also suggested the president is out of touch with the hardships people are facing because he's spending too much time fundraising.

"The idea of selecting as a campaign slogan 'Forward' is so absurd. The American people are facing really tough circumstances," said Mr. Romney. "People are having hard times in this country and the president needs to go out and talk to people, not just do fundraisers."

Mitt Romney

The Obama campaign released a new ad this morning calling Mitt Romney's performance as governor of Massachusetts "one of the worst economic records in the country." In the ad, which is called "We've Heard It All Before," criticism that the state fell to 47th in job creation and fell into debt on Mr. Romney's watch is interspersed with footage of Mr. Romney campaigning by touting his business record.

"Now, when Mitt Romney talks about what he'd do as president ... remember, we've heard it all before," a narrator says in the ad. "Romney economics, it didn't work then and it won't work now."

Romney campaign spokeswoman Andrea Saul quickly issued a response calling the ad an attempt to shift the discussion after the weak May jobs report.

"Having abandoned ‘Hope and Change,' the Obama campaign only ‘Hopes To Change The Subject' from an abysmal jobs report," Ms. Saul said. "We're happy to compare the 4.7 percent unemployment rate Mitt Romney achieved in Massachusetts to President Obama’s weak record any day."

Ms. Saul also highlighted statistics showing the unemployment rate in Massachusetts fell from 5.6 percent to 4.7 percent while the state gained jobs and closed a budget shortfall during Mr. Romney's tenure.

"President Obama's policies have failed to get Americans back to work," said Ms. Saul. "It’s time for a president who has worked in the real world economy and understands how to get this economy moving again."

Watch President Barack Obama's new campaign ad below. The ad will air in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

President Obama

After a brief respite for the holiday weekend, the battle over Bain Capital waged on in the presidential race. Romney campaign spokeswoman Andrea Saul took the first shot on CNN this morning by saying Mitt Romney's work at the private equity firm led to more new jobs than President Barack Obama's first term in the White House.

"Governor Romney has 25 years of experience as a businessman and entrepreneur, creating jobs. The only thing President Obama's ever managed is his own narrative," Ms. Saul told CNN anchor Soledad O'Brien. "Governor Romney has that experienced, he's learned from his successes and failures and he created more jobs at Bain Capital, or helped create more jobs at Bain Capital, than President Obama has in the entire nation as president."

Since Ms. Saul said Mr. Romney learned from his mistakes at Bain, Ms. O'Brien asked her to cite specific examples of failures that occurred on the company's watch. She wouldn't name any specific instances of mistakes made by Mr. Romney at Bain.

"Look, in business any entrepreneur knows that things don't always work out the way you want," said Ms. Saul. "The goal was always to grow companies to make them better, but it's not always going to work out."

Ms. O'Brien pressed the point, but Ms. Saul still didn't cite specific examples.

"Not every business is successful. So, he had successes, he had failures. I don’t have any specific examples to pass on, but there’re going to be ups and downs," Ms. Saul said. Anybody in the private sector understands that."

Ben LaBolt, press secretary for the Obama campaign, quickly pounced on Ms. Saul's refusal to name specific failures that occurred during Mr. Romney's Bain career. He issued a statement citing her comments as proof Mr. Romney doesn't learn from his mistakes and would institute. "the same failed policies that created the economic crisis in the first place."

"Mitt Romney has asked the American people to elect him based on his experience as a corporate buyout specialist--that’s the economic philosophy he would bring into the Oval Office.  He has claimed time and again that his goal was job creation, but the workers who lost their jobs when he profited off of bankrupting companies and outsourcing know that wasn’t the case," Mr. LaBolt said. "On CNN this morning, Andrea Saul couldn’t list a single lesson Mitt Romney learned from his failures as a corporate buyout specialist.  Does Mitt Romney still believe it’s okay to bankrupt a company and walk away with millions when workers are left without jobs, pensions, and health care? Romney’s record tells us he didn’t learn any lessons from his past failures."

Two of the stars of Mitt Romney's new web video. (Photo: YouTube)

"Despite President Obama’s attempts to make the country forget about his dismal record, the American people remember. There are millions of stories from the Obama economy that reflect his failure to make things better," said Gail Gitcho, the Romney campaign's communications director, in a press release announcing the video. "Too many Americans have lost their jobs, lost their homes, and fallen into poverty under this president. They are tired of being tired. They want good jobs, rising incomes, and hope for a better tomorrow. They want to believe in America again. And that is what this campaign is going to be about."

The new video, which is called "Stories From The Obama Economy," begins with footage of President Barack Obama defending the attacks on Bain earlier this week.

"This is not a distraction, this is what this campaign's going to be about," the president says.

Text flashes across the screen disputing President Obama's statement.

"No Mr. President, it's about this..."

The clip continues with several people describing stories of filing for personal bankruptcy, having trouble finding work, going into foreclosure, being laid off and trying to make ends meet on low wages.

"I expected great things from the president when he was elected, and now, it's just a feeling of disappointment that he hasn't been able to fulfill all of the things--all of the changes that he talked about," a woman says as the video ends.

The clip ends with a shot of the campaign slogan "Believe in America" followed by the date of the election, November 6, 2012.

Watch Mr. Romney's new web video below.