let me finish tonight with this. sometimes being a political pundit is the easiest thing in the world. want to know who is likely to win the battle between mitt romney and president obama? one number. the jobless rate. it s 8.2 right now and that s the starting point. so the question is, where is it going to be on the friday before the election? that first friday in november. my hardball line, ready, set, go. if the jobless number for october is up near 9, obama s got real, deep trouble. anybody who says different is either out of it or simply covering for him. anywhere near 9%, in the high 8%, it s bad, bad news for the president. what s a good, solid number? if the jobless number drops to 8, he s got a good case to make that he s got things headed in the right direction.