Friday’s jobs report was most welcome news. Though the economy remains in bad shape, we now have some pretty decent signs that it is making some gains. They’re small, painfully slow gains, but that is better than continuing to fall backward.

It is worth noting that, as good as the news of 200,000 new jobs was, we still have a long, long way to go. There are still nearly 1 million people who have given up looking for work because they don’t think jobs are available for them. Were they all still looking for jobs, they would be counted in the unemployment rate, and it would jump from 8.6 percent to 11.4 percent. They are as discouraged, or more discouraged, than the business owners who continue to sit on their hands while waiting for the next anti-business initiative from the current administration in Washington.

It remains clear that businesses are wary of investing and hiring because their owners fear that the near future will bring more bad news. The President continues to be hostile to investors and business owners, and that hostility is hindering the recovery.

As the potential challengers to President Obama go, one in particular has staked his claim on his business acumen. Mitt Romney claims he can beat President Obama because voters will trust him, with his private sector credentials, to create jobs. Maybe, but what if the recovery picks up in the next eight months? Even at the current growth rate, 2 million more Americans could find employment before November. Then Romney’s case against Obama would be weakened significantly.

Republicans might well get the “electable” candidate they want, and be beaten anyway. A candidate with more to offer than “I spent my career in the private sector” would be a better bet.