What McCain can’t hide
He says the lipstick’s about Palin to try to keep voters from looking at the pig that Obama was alluding to:
In July, Michigan continued to post the highest jobless rate,
8.5 percent. Six additional states recorded rates of 7.0 percent
or higher: Mississippi (7.9 percent), Rhode Island (7.7 percent),
California and Illinois (7.3 percent each), Ohio (7.2 percent), and
South Carolina (7.0 percent). South Dakota again logged the lowest
unemployment rate, 3.0 percent, followed by Nebraska, at 3.4 percent,
and North Dakota and Utah, at 3.5 percent each. Overall, 12 states
and the District of Columbia registered significantly higher jobless
rates than the U.S., 22 states reported measurably lower rates, and
16 states had rates little different from that of the nation.
Compare that to a year ago.
Forty-three states and the District of Columbia had statistically
significant jobless rate increases from July 2007. Rhode Island re-
ported the largest rate increase (+2.7 percentage points), followed
by Tennessee (+2.3 points), Illinois (+2.2 points), and Florida (+2.0
points). Twenty-four other states and the District of Columbia posted
over-the-year rate increases of 1.0 percentage point or more. Fifteen
additional states had smaller, but also statistically significant, rate
increases from July 2007. Arkansas experienced the only statistically
significant unemployment rate decrease (-1.0 percentage point). The
remaining six states recorded July 2008 jobless rates that were not
appreciably different from those of a year earlier.
But somebody must be doing better, right?
Over the year, seven states posted statistically significant changes
in employment, three of which were job increases. The employment gains
occurred in Texas (+248,700), North Carolina (+38,300), and Colorado
(+30,800). The 4 statistically significant over-the-year declines were in
Florida (-96,800), Michigan (-48,700), Arizona (-41,300), and Rhode Island
(-13,000).
If you want to know why McCain can’t win Michigan and is watching Florida slip away, there’s your sign. What’s amazing is that he still leads in Ohio (7.2% unemployment) and Obama’s leading in Colorado (jobs increased).
Tune in 8 days from now, when the August numbers are released.
I guarantee you: it will be worse. For many Americans.
There just isn’t enough lipstick.
And wouldn’t ya know it… the GOP is bringing a moosemusket to a pig-rassle. Innocent bystanders better be ready to duck, but the pig has nothing to fear.
