Defying History

Chris Cillizza, who writes The Fix political blog for The Washington Post, has this to say about the race for president:

To win a second term on November 6, President Obama is going to have to defy history. Why? Because the July jobs report affirmed the now-certain reality that the unemployment rate won’t drop below eight percent between today and November. And no sitting president since World War II has been re-elected with the unemployment rate above 7.2 percent. The numbers are daunting for Obama. The unemployment rate has been above 8 percent for 42 straight months— its longest period ever.

Cillizza also has narrowed down the "final five" candidates from which list he believes Mitt Romney will pick his vice presidential running-mate. In ascending order, they are Christie, Jindal, Ryan, Pawlenty, and Portman. Go here to see why he's picked these five.