Does a solid jobs report change the overall economic picture and offer the beleaguered Democratic Party a new leg up for the midterm elections? My answer is no and no.

Even with all the political slicing and dicing that accompany these big reports, the April employment survey was a lot stronger than virtually anyone expected. Nonfarm payrolls surged by 288,000. Private payrolls gained 273,000. The unemployment rate registered a big decline, dropping from 6.7 percent to 6.3 percent.