From Holden:

Grand campaign Svengali James Baker III screwed up. Big Time. He agreed to a schedule that put the second debate (topic: domestic policy) on the same day that the last montlhy jobs report before the election is to be released.

And nobody is expecting the jobs numbers to be good for the ambitions of the Bushboy:

Did the economy grow enough in September to give job creation a boost? Or did hurricanes and high oil prices dampen momentum?

There will be more than the usual interest in the September employment report, which the Bureau of Labor Statistics plans to release Friday. For one thing, it will be the last monthly report before the Nov. 2 presidential election. It also will be the first report to include any effect from the summer hurricanes.

[snip]

Last month, the Labor Department reported the country added 144,000 jobs in August, a rate considered lackluster for a recovering economy but an improvement over preceding months.

Many economists are predicting a number closer to 140,000 for September, but admit that trying to factor in the hurricanes’ effect makes their forecasts more of a guess than usual.