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'I Learned It By Watching You' Reaction Reading (Chapter 2)

By Nick Davis

I think it’s safe to say that a few eyebrows were raised when the new September jobs numbers came out on Friday showing that the US economy created 114,000 jobs as well as a revised August report of 142,000 jobs, up from what was initially estimated.  These new estimates bring the US unemployment rate down from 8.1% to 7.8%, the lowest unemployment rate in 44 months.

This is great news for President Obama in two ways. Not only does this allow the media to move on from their blanket coverage of his mediocre debate performance, it also strengthens his claim that he is the best and most prepared candidate to improve the economy in the next four years.

These numbers aren’t without controversy though. Many people within the Republican Party have called into question the legitimacy of this jobs report. Jack Welch, CEO of General Electric, suggested on his Twitter account that these numbers were fixed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), writing it off as another case of “Chicago guys” and their style of politics. Another notable incident of suspicion happened Friday morning on CNBC when the director of the BLS, Hilda Solis, vigorously defended the report by testifying to the “very professional civil service” at the BLS.

Predictably, Mitt Romney took this opportunity to criticize Obama saying, “This is not what a real recovery looks like. We created fewer jobs in September than in August, and fewer jobs in August than in July, and we've lost over 600,000 manufacturing jobs since President Obama took office." Romney seems to be taking a jab at the streak of 43 straight months of unemployment figures above 8%, which ironically this jobs report snapped. Romney did take the smart and high road however when he steered clear of the conspiracy theories, choosing instead to highlight the current “feel” of the economy and its still slow recovery while sticking to the same mantra that thousands of people have stopped looking for work.

Not to be outdone, Obama used this report to further sell his campaign message of “Forward” at George Mason University Friday when he indicated that these numbers are further proof that his policies are working. "We've made too much progress to return to the policies that led to the crisis in the first place. I can't allow that to happen, I won't allow that to happen, and that is why I'm running for a second term as president of the United States."