Mitt Romney got pretty specific about unemployment in an interview with Mark Halperin yesterday, arguing that his “policies” will “get the unemployment rate down to 6 percent, perhaps a little lower.”
It was an odd sort of prediction. For one thing, earlier this month, Romney told voters any unemployment rate above 4 percent is a problem. For another, according to the Congressional Budget Office and the Office of Management and Budget, if existing policies remain in place, the unemployment rate is already on track to reach 6% by 2016. (In other words, Romney is promising to deliver results we’re supposed to get anyway.)
This led Rachel to describe this as a “test” for political reporters.
How’s the media doing on this test? As it turns out, not too badly — the New York Times, Washington Post, and Boston Globe all published pieces that noted the larger context.
Unfortunately, the test didn’t go as well for USA Today, CBS News, and CNN (though the CNN report does offer some worthwhile scrutiny).
It’s tough to check every news site, so I thought I’d open this up to some audience participation. How did your local media do? Did they simply pass along Romney’s claim, or did they also mention the relevant details? What have you heard on television and radio? Incidentally, Romney boasted on Fox News this morning, “People all across the country are saying, ‘Wow, 6 percent sounds pretty good.” He clearly hopes viewers aren’t well informed.
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