The much anticipated jobs report was released today, showing 247,000 more jobs have been lost. The rate dropped from 9.5 percent to 9.4 percent because 422,000 left the job market. On one hand, there is cause for optimism: the rate of job loss is slowing. However, the economy is still in the doldrums, with 6.7 million jobs lost since December 2007. The statistics are sobering: 14.5 million are currently unemployed, with every sector of the economy affected.

Meanwhile, the president’s agenda remains disconnected from the central issue of our time: the ailing economy. He’s immersed in a battle over health care where the question is just how many people and businesses will be taxed and what sort of mandates will be placed on employers. This is jaw-dropping, really. What burdens can we place on employers and investors before we reach an economic recovery? That’s what’s embroiling the administration. The gap between their goals—achieving a liberal dream of nationalized health care—and the greatest domestic problem of our time is startling.