President Zero

At NYT, "G.O.P.’s New Obama Label: President Zero":

It took the Republican National Committee exactly 94 minutes to coin a new, demeaning title for Barack Obama: President Zero.

In an e-mail to reporters, the committee took note of the worst jobs report in nearly a year, saying that there has been “two and a half years of Obamanomics and nothing to show for it.”

The monthly report, which showed a 17,000-job gain among private employers but no growth over all, provides Mr. Obama’s Republican rivals with the perfect opportunity to criticize him as they prepare to gather for another nationally televised debate next week.

And it gives Mr. Obama an even more gloomy backdrop for the jobs speech he will give to a joint session of Congress next Thursday. In the speech, Mr. Obama is expected to call for a renewed national effort to put people back to work and trim the nation’s deficit.