Circle the wagons: Even CBS finds Obama’s stimulus claims “hard to believe”

Uh-oh. Even perky Katie Couric has noticed that all is not well in ObamaLand and that reality may just be considerably different than the rosy fiction being spun by the administration.

Reporter Chip Reid filed this skeptical report on Couric’s CBS Evening News:

Reid: At a small college in Georgia, $100,000 in stimulus funds paid for trucks for students to practice for commercial driver’s licenses. Another $100,000 went for a modular classroom. The school reported to the government that 280 jobs were created. In reality, not even close. That’s the number of students who benefited. It has nothing to do with jobs.

In Cocoa, Florida, a childcare center reported 129 jobs created by a stimulus grant. In fact, no jobs were created. The money was really used to increase the compensation and benefits of 129 existing employees.

Overall, it turns out the administration’s initial stimulus jobs report contained hundreds of errors as first reported by the Associated Press. Critics say if the kinds of errors found in that earlier report are repeated in Friday’s much more extensive job creation survey, it won’t be worth the paper it’s printed on.

Craig Jennings: We have, I think, a rough estimate at best. And at worst, these numbers are next to useless.

Reid: The White House says the errors have already been corrected, that tomorrow’s jobs report has been double- and triple-checked for weeks, and that it will give an accurate, detailed look at the early success of the stimulus. Republicans in Congress, though, predict the report will be a world- class example of government obfuscation.

Rep. John Boehner: There is no factual way of determining how many jobs were saved or created.

(END VIDEO)

Reid: Those Republican critics also say they don’t understand how some stimulus projects will create any jobs. For example, half a million dollars to study social networks like FaceBook, and $219,000 to study the sex lives of female college freshmen. Katie.

Couric: Chip Reid reporting from the White House tonight. Thanks, Chip.

Apparently the video transmission was cut before Couric had a chance to say, “You’re way off script with this one, Chip.”

Source: NewBusters.org