After years of finding the dark lining in every silver economic cloud, Republicans are facing a political quandary that is dividing their leadership even as it buoys the nation: The economy appears to be achieving liftoff. … To some Republicans, a strategic shift is in the offing: Obama’s economy is still a failure, they argue, but welcome to the McConnell economy. …
How both parties finesse an economic recovery that is clearly gathering steam will have major ramifications for the coming presidential election cycle. In 2012, 45 percent of voters said the economy was not doing well, according to exit polls. Democrats carried those voters by a 13 percentage point margin. Two years later, those voters had had enough: 48 percent saw the economy negatively, and Republicans carried that group by 17 points.
In the next election, who gets credit if opinion shifts again will matter enormously, said David Winston, a Republican pollster who consults closely with House Republican leaders. CONT.
Jonathan Weisman, New York Times