The Labor Department put out some big numbers Friday.

The economy added 236,000 private-sector jobs in February. The unemployment rate fell from 7.9 to 7.7 percent. Governments at all levels shed some jobs, which detracted a bit from the total number of jobs gained during the past month.

But those who’ve been blasting the Obama administration because of its allegedly “failed economic policy” aren’t joining the chorus of praise for the positive turn in the economy.

I would ask “why?” but I know the answer already. It’s politics.

Past monthly reports have shown similar dips in the jobless rate, but the “loyal opposition” has been quick to say those prior declines were a result of people ending their job search. They’re despairing of ever finding a job, so they’ve quit looking, say the critics. Economists across the board, though, hailed the latest monthly jobs numbers as a sign of actual economic growth, suggesting that the recovery is accelerating.

But the doomsayers aren’t about to sing those praises.

I think I’ll say what many of them likely are thinking privately … but don’t dare say out loud: “Hey, we might have been wrong about Barack Obama’s strategy to rescue the nation from its 2008-09 economic free fall.”