Elect a new president, or Elect a new government?

What gets me, if a local community loses jobs, it is never the city administration, never the state legislation or governor, always the Presidents fault. What in the world does the President, or federal government have to with jobs in Chicago, or Los Angeles. More important, if it is a federal problem, why do some cites, some states do very well, while others go broke. Wouldn't it be uniform if the feds have any impact?