Hypocrisy on Job Creation by Rick Perry & Mitt Romney

This news story, reporting on last night’s GOP debate, included the following exchange:

“Michael Dukakis created jobs three times faster than you did, Mitt,” Perry jabbed in the debate’s opening moments, referring to one of Romney’s Democratic predecessors as governor of Massachusetts.

“As a matter of fact, George Bush and his predecessors created jobs at a faster rate than you did,” Romney shot back at Perry, the 10-year incumbent Texas governor.

Interesting exchange, given that both Perry and Romney are on record as saying the government doesn’t create jobs.

Here’s Rick Perry:

This story reports that “Romney said he has ’59 specific proposals — including 10 concrete actions’ he would undertake on his first day in office to turn around the economy,” then quotes Romney:

“Each proposal is rooted in the conservative premise that government itself cannot create jobs. At best, government can provide a framework in which economic growth can occur. All too often, however, government gets in the way. The past three years of unparalleled government expansion have retaught that lesson all too well.”

In other words, to these status-quo, pandering politicians, government doesn’t create jobs — unless they can personally take credit for it, or disparage an opponent for not doing it.