The Reaction: Mitt Romney's hypocrisy on his job creation record in Massachusetts

By Richard K. Barry

I don't believe the crap I'm saying either, but
they pay me really well.

Mitt Romney has done a pretty good of avoiding discussion of his record as Governor of Massachusetts, in part because he would have to explain RomneyCare over and over, but also because his record on job creation, something he would like us to think is a strength, turns out to be anything but.

Predictably, the Obama campaign is going to make Romney talk about his time as governor because there is a record there he must be forced to defend.

One thing that Obama's team is starting to do is attack Romney's double standard on the candidates record on job creation. As Steve Benen points out at The Maddow Blog:

When evaluating Romney's one term as governor, his campaign argues, what matters is that the governor inherited a recession. The state showed marginal improvements after four years, they now argue, moving from an economy that was losing jobs into one that was adding jobs. Can Obama use the identical standard? Of course not.

In one of the most jaw-dropping quotes of the year, Ed Gillespie went so far as to argue on Sunday that Romney's entire first year as governor shouldn't count. Asked about the fact that Massachusetts ranked 47th in job creation during Romney's tenure, Gillespie complained, "[Democrats are] averaging out over the four years. So, they are bringing down the gains of his fourth year in office, which shows the real impact of his policies, and diluting it with the first year in office."

The double standard is, of course, quite amazing. For these guys, it matters that Romney inherited a recession, but not that Barack Obama was handed the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

It matters that Massachusetts was adding jobs after Romney's one term, but it doesn't matter that America is adding jobs after Obama's one term. Romney's first year doesn't count, but Obama's first year does count. Creating averages based on four-year totals is wrong when it's applied to Romney, but necessary when it's applied to Obama.

As Benen argues, these are the facts, but the goal is to make the media care. The Romney campaign is completely shameless. We know that. The only thing we can do is tell the truth as often as possible. On that point, below is a video produced by the Obama campaign that lays it all out. Feel free to share.