CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Within hours of President Barack Obama's convention speech, the government will issue a jobs report for August. In a campaign defined by the economy, that is no small intersection of events.
For Obama, the challenge is to make a case to the public that breaks a virtual stalemate with rival Mitt Romney in the face of an immediate reminder of the nation's economic struggles.
But the economy has varied little. It has been marked by sluggish growth and a jobs flat line that has done little to alter the dynamics of a remarkably tight presidential contest. Economists' expectations are that the unemployment rate will remain at 8.3 percent.
By the current economy's standards, that's the kind of middling report that political analysts say won't help or hurt either side.
