Obama claims he created 4.5 million jobs with 22 consecutive months of job growth.

These single-variable, cherry-picked employment data create a grossly inaccurate picture of the real effect of Obama’s policies.

When he was inaugurated in 2009, private sector employment was 111 million. In July 2012, 88 percent through his term, employment had only increased 300,000. A far cry from the 4.5 million jobs he claims.

It is not just that Obama distorts data. My principal complaint is that his policies took a bad situation and made it worse.

In nominating Obama, Clinton made a big deal that neither he, nor any other preceding president, could fix our economy in four years. I wonder what Gov. Dalrymple of North Dakota thinks of that “lead from behind” assessment.

His state is enjoying a huge energy boom by exploiting state-controlled energy sources, with revenue increases that make Washington politicos drool. I must believe that if Obama had led with similar policies, our recovery would be more robust than 300,000 jobs and our federal deficits much lower.

But Obama’s ideological policies preferred cronyism a la Solyndra to using our oil, gas and coal resources to ignite a vigorous recovery. In an incomprehensible misjudgment, he promised imaginary “shovel-ready” projects in his stimulus, but refused to see that the Keystone pipeline project was actually shovel-ready, thereby losing thousands of jobs and greatly enhanced revenues.

Obama fails to understand other important variables affecting employment statistics. Population growth debunks his claim of 22 consecutive months of job growth. Also, decreases in Obama’s unemployment rate are caused mostly by the shrinking work force, not by an increase in the number of employed workers.

The truth seldom validates the words on Obama’s teleprompter. Follow the Reagan dictum: Trust, but verify.

Wes May

Pinehurst