Pelosi and Obama

Time running out for Obama to turn around the economy

With two consecutive months of dismal job growth amid rising unemployment -- and just five months until Americans go to the polls to choose their next president -- the Obama administration is on the clock to show it indeed can "put Americans back to work.

"That reality was underscored Friday by Labor Department reports that showed the jobless rate ticked upward in May to 8.2 percent, from 8.1 percent, and that virtually stagnant economic growth created only 69,000 new jobs -- the fewest in a year.The White House and Obama were quick to defend the numbers, saying -- as they have since taking office in 2008 -- the problems were inherited."We're still fighting our way back," the president said during a campaign stop at a Honeywell facility in Golden Valley, Minn. "Our economy is still facing serious head winds."The president attributes the sluggish growth over the past few months in part to gas prices and the European debt crisis.He also cast some blame on Congress for failing to pass his ...

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