Did you hear the one about Joe Biden claiming that Louisiana under Governor Bobby Jindal is losing 400 jobs a day?
Probably not. A search at the Washington Post on "Biden 400 jobs Louisiana" (not in quotes) came back with no results. No relevant results were returned with the same searches done at the New York Times and the LA Times.
The math-challenged Biden, who infamously said during the presidential campaign that the word "jobs" has three letters (maybe you don't know about that one either), made this false claim Wednesday morning, and almost no one noticed.
One exception was TV station KSLA, which filed this report (related but not identically scripted video can be found at link; direct link to vid is here). Reporter Fred Childress's "Fact Check" told us that Biden isn't merely wrong; the Bayou State actually gained seasonally adjusted jobs in December:
Reality check for Vice President Joe Biden
In giving the republican response to President Obama's speech Tuesday night, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal pointed out fundamental differences in how republicans and democrats see the economy.
Wednesday morning on the CBS Early Show, Vice President Joe Biden asked, "But what I don't understand from Governor Jindal is what would he do? In Louisiana, there's 400 people a day losing their jobs. What's he doing?"
But that claim is wrong if you look at the numbers from the Louisiana Workforce Commission.
"In December, Louisiana was the only state in the nation besides the District of Columbia, according to the national press release, that added employment over the month," said Patty Granier with the Louisiana Workforce Commission.
"The state gained 3,700 jobs for the seasonally adjusted employment," Granier said of the most recent figures.
Those numbers are available on Louisiana's employment website, laworks.net.
The male in-studio anchor appeared to be a bit exasperated after Childress's presentation, saying, "You need to get the numbers right, Mr. Vice President."
If he can't count to four, it's not surprising that Joe Biden has a harder time with 400 (ah, there's the excuse; "everybody know he's a dummy, so it's not news").
Coverage at other media outlets was clearly sparse. A Google News search on [Biden "400 jobs"] (typed as indicated) came back with only two relevant results. One of them, from ABC's Political Punch blog, showed up as a result only because the Biden gaffe was mentioned in a comment. The other was at Oklahoma's NewsOK web site.
If a Republican Vice President had flubbed as Biden did, I daresay the three newspapers cited above and many more outlets would somehow have found space for it.
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.
—Tom Blumer is president of a training and development company in Mason, Ohio, and is a contributing editor to NewsBusters
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Comments Policy
"Scarecrow, I'll miss you most of all"
March 3, 2009 - 13:28 ET by Chris NormanYou can bet, if they did cover it, the MSM would come up with a way to twist and warp the data to back up Biden's (as usual) bogus claim.
The "Mainstream" Media: By liberals. For liberals.
Biden is the gift that just
March 3, 2009 - 13:36 ET by katainkentBiden is the gift that just keeps on giving. :)
PRAVDA has been instructed
March 3, 2009 - 13:53 ET by 10ksnookerTo just ignore Joe ...
Anyone even surprised?
March 3, 2009 - 14:19 ET by FinerThingsClubMemberInTrainingI mean, this is just Joe being Joe right.
That's just accept the fact this no-talent ass clown will get a continual free pass.
I have access to databases that search newspapers nationwide. I get only a few hits on this. Surprise! They are all blogs with the exception of Fox.
Pathetic.
And this buffoon is in charge of overseeing the oversight of the stimulus? God help us all.
Anyone even surprised?
March 3, 2009 - 14:19 ET by FinerThingsClubMemberInTrainingI mean, this is just Joe being Joe right.
That's just accept the fact this no-talent ass clown will get a continual free pass.
I have access to databases that search newspapers nationwide. I get only a few hits on this. Surprise! They are all blogs with the exception of Fox.
Pathetic.
And this buffoon is in charge of overseeing the oversight of the stimulus? God help us all.
Poor Old Joe...
March 3, 2009 - 14:21 ET by jdlybrandMakes about as much sense as a screen door on a submarine, tits on a boar hog, or a one legged man in a butt-kicking contest.
"Stand up Chuck.. ooo, God love you pal."
It's all irrelevant.
March 3, 2009 - 14:26 ET by Willis_Leon_JohnsonThe only thing I need to know is:
Can he spell "potato" if a unionized teacher prints it out for him?
The man is a fool, but they got him the hell out of local politics so his village isn't screwed up nearly as bad as it would have been.
http://gjresult.com
Joe's only pushing the party line
March 3, 2009 - 14:27 ET by scoutJust like Nan Pelosi with her "500,000,000 jobs a month" being lost without the stimulus, Joe Bidens comments are merely the fear mongering that the Obama Administration has begun in order to cover its failing plan. Obama most likely sent Pelosi out to make that claim, but he is tto much of a Rookie to understand that those of us who can add, would realize that if the comment were true, the U.S. would be at 100% unemployment by the end of February.
Obama then compounded this dumb move by saying that "the stimulus won't take effect for years", so it would still leave us all out of work, even when implemented.
But the question still lingering in my mind is how does giving $4,000,000,000 to ACORN create jobs? Other than to pay the ACORN lawyers as they defend ACORN against their voter fraud charges. Maybe ACORN thinks that "breaking and entering" and illegal trespass" (as they have been doing this week) should become a new profession, complete with union benefits.
WHERE?
March 3, 2009 - 14:36 ET by jacktheripperwhere the hell is the accountabilty with the press?
where is the fair and balanced media?
good lord why are we not singing from the roof tops what this Admin. is saying and doing?
scout... Biden meant to say
March 3, 2009 - 14:41 ET by celatorscout... Biden meant to say 97 trillion jobs a minute are being lost in LA, trying to outdo Nancy "I told the Pope to stuff his prolife ideas" Pelosi with her estimate. He screwed it up, it looks like. Guy can't anything right, can he?
Mickey Mouse is one
of "Satan's soldiers" and must die, says Saudi Arabian cleric Sheikh
Muhammad Munajid. - Daily Telegraph (UK), 9/15/08
It's the new liberal math ...
March 3, 2009 - 14:41 ET by metaphorsbwithuYou have to understand the way liberals calculate.
For example, let's say President Obama has guaranteed to "save or create" 3.5 million jobs this year.
If, in 12 months, government has "created" only 1.5 million new jobs, Obama can always say that studies show we would have had a net loss of 2.5 million jobs without his policies, so his programs did better than expected.
It stands to reason that, should Louisiana be producing, let's say, 1,500 new jobs per day (by Biden's reckoning) but only produces 1,100, it is, in effect, losing 400 a day.
See? Liberals are never wrong ... once you know how their brains work.
metaphorsbwithu
I just heard some libtard
March 3, 2009 - 15:39 ET by SickofLibsI just heard some libtard female guest on CNN actually say Plugs' proclivity for gaffes and mispeaks was the main reason Obama picked him... just to keep things lively.
(They were not discussing this apparently nonexistant story.)
deliberate tactic
March 3, 2009 - 15:40 ET by goldboughThe democrats have this deliberate tactic of lying and then banking on the fact that the truth won't get reported as widely. When they make up shocking information, it gets all over the news and then when the truth comes out, it's not reported near as much because it doesn't sound as good. So a lot of people still remember the lie. People think LA is losing jobs every day because they didn't hear the facts afterward.
Yup
March 3, 2009 - 15:45 ET by retroconWhile i cannot argue with any of these excellent responses, the only thing i can contribute is this:
Biden, Pelosi, and Byrd are the only things that make conservatives pray for Obama's good health -- every single night...
When did the U.S. Constitution come to include the Three Stooges in presidential succession, anyway??
Cheezewiz Tom. Press Virtually Ignores any Biden/Obama Whoppers
March 3, 2009 - 15:49 ET by Gary HallCheezewiz Tom. The mainstream press virtually ignores any Biden/Obama Whoppers. And shucks .. I missed the jobs (3 letters) one. Thanks.
Although the press tried to miss it, a few caught that the US has 57 states -- but those few, who did, were frowned upon by the mainstream press, "leave him alone, he's worked so hard to promote change, that he must be exhausted."
They missed it when last Oct., Biden lied to reporter Barbara West in Fl - and to the American tax paying voters - when he stated:
Wrong -- that was the 90's Joe - the Clinton era of excess greed and fraud. What a sales job. From 1993 to 2000 the top 1%'s income rose from 13.79% to 20.81% (almost 21%) of all the income. Enter Bush. By 2003, the top 1%'s share had dropped to 16.77%. OK, then it made it back up to where Clinton left it. MSM's reaction? Damn Biden is good - now we'll trumpet that for him to promote the division in the country and elect Obama.
Of course the whole list of MSM censored whopppers would - hey, where's Poptech, where are you when I need you?
Obama lying to seniors in Florida about SS benefits - more fear mongering - just might be another biggie.
(;~> gary
I'm from Louisiana. Our
March 3, 2009 - 23:44 ET by grevalI'm from Louisiana. Our economy is doing better than many other states at the moment.
How about those states run by Democrats Joe?