What do Jack Welch, Rush Limbaugh, Rick Santelli, and the US labor department all have in common?  They’ve all known for months that the unemployment rate would be just under 8% the month before the election…

Good magic tricks are both unpredictable and subtle.  The 7.8% number put out by the US Labor department for September was neither. Every major economist at every bank and independent group measured the unemployment rate to be between 8.1% and 8.2% for the month of September.  Most economists predicted the employment gains correctly at around 120,000 for the month.  The “establishment” employment numbers confirmed their prediction at 114,00.  Since that number doesn’t keep up with the monthly population growth contribution to employment of 150,000, economists predicted that the unemployment rate would edge up from about 8.1% to approximately 8.2%…

But wait! What is this behind your ear Uncle Sam? Oh, look at them apples – over 800,000 new jobs magically appeared in the “household” indicator!  No one saw that one coming (except for every conservative “conspiracy theorist” for the past six months)!

If Obama’s little magic trick doesn’t make you feel like a embarrassed parent quietly texting your spouse that you will NEVER HIRE BOZO THE EX-CON CLOWN MAGICIAN AGAIN for your child’s birthday party, then you are obviously the child.  The mastoid process behind your ear is also a winning penny slot machine.  Congratulations.