Lachlan Markay writes for The Federalist website that Republican leaders ought to change course in discussing the American economy.

Republicans should stop poo-pooing good jobs numbers and start taking credit for them. They are ceding rhetorical ground, foregoing political advantage, and refusing to take credit for policy victories that have produced tangible benefits for American workers.

Alas, the immediate reaction from GOP leaders to positive employment data on Friday was to downplay its significance.

“While it is welcome news that more Americans found work last month, middle-class families continue to be left behind by the president’s policies,” said Speaker John Boehner in a statement.

That may be true—Boehner and Republican National Committee Chair Reince Preibus both rightfully cited the president’s refusal to approve the Keystone XL pipeline—but Boehner’s point rings hollow in the face of nearly 300,000 new jobs and an unemployment rate as low as it’s been in almost seven years. …

… Their concern seems to be that acknowledging any improvement in the U.S. economy will naturally redound to the president’s benefit. It’s not an unfounded fear. Some national political reporters seem to think the president deserves credit for economic progress simply for occupying the Oval Office while it takes place.

But which Barack Obama policy can Democrats possibly invoke to credit him with recent jobs gains? Immigration reform? The Congressional Budget Office said Obama’s preferred legislation would increase the unemployment rate in the near-term. Carbon regulations? Even if environmentally necessary, the Environmental Protection Agency is trying to shutter the entire coal power industry.

What federal policies have put Americans back to work? According to a study from the National Bureau of Economic Research, significant credit goes to the expiration of long-term unemployment benefits at the end of 2013. According to that study, “1.8 million additional jobs were created in 2014 due to the benefit cut. Almost 1 million of these jobs were filled by workers from out of the labor force who would not have participated in the labor market had benefit extensions been reauthorized.”