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NOW Today: Too soon to tell?

The 2012 race for President has begun in earnest.

The 2012 race for President has begun in earnest.  It's exactly 60 days until Election Day, and with the conventions now behind us, the pursuit of undecided, independent, and previously disengaged voters goes into overdrive.

Polls show the GOP left Tampa with little to no bounce from its convention, while it's too early to tell whether Democrats will fare better. One factor that could prove key in assessing Charlotte's effect: today's August jobs report. Economists predicted that about 125,000 new jobs were created last month - the actual figure was 96,000, driving the unemployment rate to 8.1%. Will these numbers give a boost to the President's claim that the economy is getting stronger - or do they undercut the President's credibility on what is issue number one for most Americans?

The President knew the jobs numbers last night before his convention address. He and the White House get the numbers the afternoon before the traditional Friday 8:30a release. It's anybody's guess if the President adjusted his remarks knowing what Friday's news would be. Question is, how will it be received by those undecided voters?

PANEL

Kurt Andersen, Author, “True Believers” (@kbandersen)

Heather McGhee, Vice President, Demos (@hmcghee)

GUESTS

John Heilemann, National Affairs Editor, New York Magazine/msnbc Political Analyst (@jheil)

Josh Tyrangiel, Editor, Bloomberg Businessweek (@tyrangiel)

Eamon Javers, CNBC (@eamonjavers)

James Lipton, Host, “Inside the Actor’s Studio”