Chutzpa Alert

On Meet the Press Newt Gingrich said

I follow the model that Rick Perry and others have used to create more jobs in Texas. You know, Texas two out of the last four years created more jobs than the other 49 states combined.

Gingrich has figured out a nice mathematical trick. Note that in two out of the last four years employment declined. This means that to outdo "the other 49 states combined" a state had to have a lower decline. This is easy. In 2008 and 2009 almost every state (if not every single state the only possible exception is California) had better employment growth than the other 49 states combined.

Gingrich is so dishonest that he doesn't even bother to learn the facts. But he isn't stupid. He understands the basic concepts such as positive and negative numbers *and* he understands that he can use them to trick most of the people most of the time.

He also knew not to add that Texas had fewer unemployed people than the other 49 states combined. This is just as true and just as informative as his claim. But it's too obvious that combining the other 49 states is a way to make Texas look good.

I admire his audacity.