OH, BY THE WAY – AT 7:04 A.M. ET:  While the news media has been consumed by the saga of Shirley Sherrod, Department of Agriculture employee, other stuff has been happening.  For example:

WASHINGTON -- New jobless claims in the U.S. jumped last week by the most since February, reversing a sharp fall two weeks ago. The rise is partly a result of seasonal factors but also reflects the job market's weakness.

The Labor Department says new claims for unemployment insurance jumped by 37,000 to a seasonally adjusted 464,000. Analysts expected a smaller rise, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters.

The sharp increase comes after claims fell steeply two weeks ago to their lowest level since August 2008. But much of that drop was driven by temporary seasonal factors and not necessarily by an improving job market.

COMMENT:  If there's one thing the administration doesn't want to talk about during this year's election campaign, it's the economy.  The fact is that, despite a few bright spots, the economy is still in the basement, with substantial fears of a double-dip recession, or, at least, a very long and painful recovery.

Not change we can believe in.

July 23,  2010