{"id":4265,"date":"2016-02-05T18:33:39","date_gmt":"2016-02-05T18:33:39","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2016-02-05T18:33:39","modified_gmt":"2016-02-05T18:33:39","slug":"obama_s_unemployment_sleight_of_hand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2016\/02\/05\/obama_s_unemployment_sleight_of_hand\/","title":{"rendered":"Obama\u2019s Unemployment Sleight of Hand"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"\/\/videos\/37\/69981\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/listentoit.jpg\" alt=\"Listen to it Button\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>RUSH:  We have an audio sound bite here from Obama, the press conference I mentioned an hour ago.  He went out there and he was praising his economy.  He was heralding first-time unemployment rate as being under 5% for the first time in seven years.  That\u2019s essentially since he took office.  The first time.  When have you ever heard that referred to: &#8220;The first-time unemployment rate is now at 4.9%&#8221;?  What\u2019s that?  Does anybody have any memory of hearing the unemployment rate referred to as &#8220;the first-time unemployment rate&#8221;? <\/p>\n<p><img id=\"eZObject_117524\" class=\"aligncenter\" align=\"middle\" src=\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/ObamaNotMyFault2.jpg\"\/><BR\/>Well, there\u2019s a reason he said it.  It\u2019s because it\u2019s the only way you can ignore the 94 million Americans not working, not in the labor force. The first-time unemployed. In other words, people applying for unemployment benefits for the first time, 5%. They\u2019re added to the 15% who have been getting unemployment for four years and have run out. He\u2019s not talking about them.  So this is a sleight-of-hand thing.  Four point&#8230; (interruption) They did.  They released the numbers, 4.9% unemployment rate with 150,000 new jobs created.<\/line><\/p>\n<p>This is an abject joke.  It\u2019s a total joke.  And it comes the day after Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders vie for the Democrat nomination by telling their voters they know how truly rotten this economy is.  And yet here\u2019s Obama out there heralding it today, the very next day. Less than 24 hours later, there\u2019s Obama out there essentially contradicting everything his two would-be replacements are out saying.  And watching CNN on this &#8212; this was interesting, too. <\/p>\n<p>After Obama finished and had told everybody how great the economy is and how great the jobs picture is, CNN cut immediately to a story on how the bottom is falling out of Wall Street.  Meaning they went straight to Obama to negative economic news on Wall Street, which they used to not do.  They would not do anything to contradict Obama.  If he\u2019s going out there talk about how great the economy is, they would either follow up with something else or find something in the economy they could say was reflecting of what Obama had just said or illustrative. <\/p>\n<p><img id=\"eZObject_117525\" class=\"aligncenter\" align=\"middle\" src=\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/ObamaUnemploymentMath.jpg\"\/><BR\/>But he was answering questions, and there\u2019s a reporter from Fox News, Kevin Corke, who said, &#8220;Mr. President, how can you improve workforce participation levels?&#8221;  See I am convinced that before we started talking about the labor force participation rate, the Drive-By Media had no idea what it was.  I don\u2019t think they did. Like baseline budgeting.  Until we spent many days detailing here, I don\u2019t think too many people really knew what it was.  Likewise, the unemployment rate, there are two numbers they release:  U-3 and U-6.  And I get the two confused. <\/line><\/p>\n<p>U-3 is what they talk about every day.  U-6 is the real number.  U-3 is the &#8220;first-time unemployment,&#8221; and U-6 is the sum total of everybody, even those who have given up looking for a job, and that number\u2019s 15%.  In the African-American community, do you know where that number is? It\u2019s at 25%.  And if you even narrow it down to unemployed African-American youth? Whew. Folks, it\u2019s so bad as to be obscene.  There isn\u2019t any robust economic news that Obama can talk about, except &#8212; and not even now can he do that &#8212; Wall Street.<\/p>\n<p>So, anyway, Kevin Corke says, &#8220;Mr. President, how can you improve workforce participation levels?  Because as much as people talking about &#8216;the recovery,\u2019 so few Americans are now, relatively speaking in the job force, in the job market, especially compared to 2008.&#8221;  It\u2019s amazing this guy got out of there without a black eye, \u2019cause basically what this reporter said to Obama, &#8220;You know, your first-time unemployment rate number doesn\u2019t mean anything \u2019cause there\u2019s 94 million Americans not working! What are you gonna do about getting them back into the labor force?&#8221;  And here\u2019s what Obama said.<\/p>\n<p><img id=\"eZObject_117538\" class=\"alignright\" align=\"right\" src=\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/Obama-blame.jpg\"\/><BR\/>OBAMA: (haltingly) We\u2019re still at a point where the labor force rate is lower than it has been historically.  Some of that\u2019s explained by demographics.<\/line><\/p>\n<p>RUSH: Oh, yeah.<\/p>\n<p>OBAMA: The population\u2019s getting older.<\/p>\n<p>RUSH:  Right.<\/p>\n<p>OBAMA:  And so you would expect that there is some decline, but it\u2019s not fully explained by Americans getting older.  Some of this is still the hangover from what happened in 2007\/2008.<\/p>\n<p>RUSH:  Oh!<\/p>\n<p>OBAMA:  I got a lot of letters from middle-aged works who got laid off &#8212;<\/p>\n<p>RUSH:  It\u2019s Bush\u2019s fault!<\/p>\n<p>OBAMA:  &#8212; not confident about their current skills, and so have not yet reentered the workforce.  They need to get retrained.<\/p>\n<p>RUSH:  That\u2019s right.  It\u2019s Bush\u2019s fault! Of course.  That\u2019s why. Why didn\u2019t we think of that? It\u2019s from 2007-2008.  &#8220;Some of this is still the hangover from what happened in 2007\/2008.&#8221;  Yeah, yeah.  All that labor force participation rate mumbo jumbo, 94 million Americans not working? That\u2019s Bush\u2019s fault.  Ever heard of Hurricane Katrina?  Sure! Iraq war? That\u2019s Bush\u2019s fault.  (And you rub your hands together if you\u2019re Obama, and you leave stage, and another successful economic fraud press conference is in the books.) <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>RUSH: We have an audio sound bite here from Obama, the press conference I mentioned an hour ago. He went out there and he was praising his economy. He was heralding first-time unemployment rate as being under 5% for the first time in seven years. That\u2019s essentially since he took office. The first time. When [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v17.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Obama&#039;s Unemployment Sleight of Hand - The Rush Limbaugh Show<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2016\/02\/05\/obama_s_unemployment_sleight_of_hand\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Obama&#039;s Unemployment Sleight of Hand - The Rush Limbaugh Show\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"RUSH: We have an audio sound bite here from Obama, the press conference I mentioned an hour ago. He went out there and he was praising his economy. He was heralding first-time unemployment rate as being under 5% for the first time in seven years. That\u2019s essentially since he took office. The first time. When [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/listentoit.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"GeorgePrayias\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/\",\"name\":\"The Rush Limbaugh Show\",\"description\":\"Excellence In Broadcasting\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2016\/02\/05\/obama_s_unemployment_sleight_of_hand\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/listentoit.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/listentoit.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2016\/02\/05\/obama_s_unemployment_sleight_of_hand\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2016\/02\/05\/obama_s_unemployment_sleight_of_hand\/\",\"name\":\"Obama's Unemployment Sleight of Hand - The Rush Limbaugh Show\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2016\/02\/05\/obama_s_unemployment_sleight_of_hand\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-02-05T18:33:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-02-05T18:33:39+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/#\/schema\/person\/9a33276eb9dc5b6d3f8218957f30e6b4\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2016\/02\/05\/obama_s_unemployment_sleight_of_hand\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2016\/02\/05\/obama_s_unemployment_sleight_of_hand\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2016\/02\/05\/obama_s_unemployment_sleight_of_hand\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Obama\\u2019s Unemployment Sleight of Hand\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/#\/schema\/person\/9a33276eb9dc5b6d3f8218957f30e6b4\",\"name\":\"GeorgePrayias\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d290ab65e2eaca3719268528f83b85bf?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d290ab65e2eaca3719268528f83b85bf?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"GeorgePrayias\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/author\/GeorgePrayias\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Obama's Unemployment Sleight of Hand - The Rush Limbaugh Show","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2016\/02\/05\/obama_s_unemployment_sleight_of_hand\/","twitter_card":"summary","twitter_title":"Obama's Unemployment Sleight of Hand - The Rush Limbaugh Show","twitter_description":"RUSH: We have an audio sound bite here from Obama, the press conference I mentioned an hour ago. He went out there and he was praising his economy. He was heralding first-time unemployment rate as being under 5% for the first time in seven years. That\u2019s essentially since he took office. The first time. When [&hellip;]","twitter_image":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/listentoit.jpg","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"GeorgePrayias","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/#website","url":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/","name":"The Rush Limbaugh Show","description":"Excellence In Broadcasting","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2016\/02\/05\/obama_s_unemployment_sleight_of_hand\/#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/listentoit.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/listentoit.jpg"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2016\/02\/05\/obama_s_unemployment_sleight_of_hand\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2016\/02\/05\/obama_s_unemployment_sleight_of_hand\/","name":"Obama's Unemployment Sleight of Hand - The Rush Limbaugh Show","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2016\/02\/05\/obama_s_unemployment_sleight_of_hand\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2016-02-05T18:33:39+00:00","dateModified":"2016-02-05T18:33:39+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/#\/schema\/person\/9a33276eb9dc5b6d3f8218957f30e6b4"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2016\/02\/05\/obama_s_unemployment_sleight_of_hand\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2016\/02\/05\/obama_s_unemployment_sleight_of_hand\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/daily\/2016\/02\/05\/obama_s_unemployment_sleight_of_hand\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Obama\u2019s Unemployment Sleight of Hand"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/#\/schema\/person\/9a33276eb9dc5b6d3f8218957f30e6b4","name":"GeorgePrayias","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/live-rush-limbaugh.pantheonsite.io\/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d290ab65e2eaca3719268528f83b85bf?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d290ab65e2eaca3719268528f83b85bf?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"GeorgePrayias"},"url":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/author\/GeorgePrayias\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4265"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4265"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4265\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rushlimbaugh.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}