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Say it ain’t so, Joe. Because you are wrong to the point of another GAFFE.

Giving the republican response to President Obama’s speech Tuesday night, Governor Bobby Jindal pointed out fundamental differences in how republicans and democrats see the economy.

“But what I don’t understand from Governor Jindal is what would he do?,” asks Joe Biden while on the Early Show.
That rhetorical question to Governor Jindal on the Early Show, was followed with this.

“in Louisiana there’s 400 people a day losing their jobs, what’s he doing?” asks Biden.

But that claim is wrong, if you look at the numbers from the Louisiana Workforce Commission.

“In December, Louisiana was the only state in the nation besides the District of Columbia, according to the national press release that added employment over the month,” says Patty Granier with the Louisiana Workforce Commission. According to her, not only is Louisiana not losing jobs. “The state gained 3,700 jobs for the seasonally adjusted employment,” Granier said of the most recent figures.

You don’t even have to take my word for it, these are number you can check out yourself if you just go to laworks.net, there you can find the latest unemployment statistics, statistics that appear to directly contradict what the vice president said this morning.

The GAFFE MACHINE that keeps on giving.

• Jindal Didn't Damage His Presidential Aspirations – Lowered Expectations Might Help Him
  Politicians use charisma — call it authentic presence — to cover up their human quirks. Luckily for Jindal, other WH 2012 or 2016 contenders (and remember, Jindal's said he's not running for president in 2012, although, as with our current president, voters don't seem to care wabout these promises), aren't terribly charismatic either, aside from Ex-MA Gov. Mike Huckabee, who has a tenuous relationship to certain parts of the Republican base. The good news for Jindal is that expectations have been lowered a bit, and if you believe him to be serious about not running until at least 2016, not a thing has happened to change his prospects.
  (tags: bobby_jindal)
• Sen. Robert Byrd: Obama in power grab with White House Advisers
  Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), the longest serving Democratic senator, is criticizing President Obama’s appointment of White House “czars” to oversee federal policy, saying these executive positions amount to a power grab by the executive branch.

  In a letter to Obama on Wednesday, Byrd complained about Obama’s decision to create White House offices on health reform, urban affairs policy, and energy and climate change. Byrd said such positions “can threaten the Constitutional system of checks and balances. At the worst, White House staff have taken direction and control of programmatic areas that are the statutory responsibility of Senate-confirmed officials.”

  (tags: barack_obama RobertByrd)
• Shocker: Guantanamo abuse has worsened since Obama Became President
  Abuse of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay has worsened sharply since President Barack Obama took office as prison guards "get their kicks in" before the camp is closed, according to a lawyer who represents detainees.

  Abuses began to pick up in December after Obama was elected, human rights lawyer Ahmed Ghappour told Reuters. He cited beatings, the dislocation of limbs, spraying of pepper spray into closed cells, applying pepper spray to toilet paper and over-forcefeeding detainees who are on hunger strike.

  (tags: barack_obama Guantanamo_Bay)
• California State Budget: What exactly is a 'spending cut'?
  The state budget crisis that was more or less resolved last week sparked the renewal of an old semantic argument over the meaning of "spending cut," and while this column is not likely to end the argument, it may shed some light on it.

  It began with the Schwarzenegger administration's assertion that the state had a $42 billion budget deficit – the difference between revenue and projected spending – during the remainder of the 2008-09 fiscal year and all of the 2009-10 year.

  While many in the Capitol and in journalism accepted that figure, The Bee and some others opted for $40 billion, because the additional $2 billion represented the desire for a $2 billion emergency reserve.

  (tags: California_Budget)

Now, after his “Oh God” crack was revealed, Chris Matthews of MSNBC has issued a clarification:

I was taken aback by that peculiar stagecraft, the walking from somewhere in the back of this narrow hall, this winding staircase looming there, the odd anti-bellum look of the scene. Was this some mimicking of a president walking along the state floor to the East Room?

Antebellum means “pre-Civil War.”

So, is Matthews making a jaded remark related to Jindal’s southern accent, being from a deep southern Confererate state, Jindal is non-white and the fact that he is criticizing the first African-American President?

Take your pick – all of the above.

Ace has more about this “outsourced” comment from this further Matthews commentary on Jindal’s response.