Proving once again that our official "expecters" don't have a clue, today's eagerly anticipated Labor Department reports showed the unemployment rate still at a devastating 9.5%. As if that weren't enough bad news, the economy shed more jobs than expected in July - 131,000.

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"Today's disappointing jobs report falls short of where we need to be," said House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Virginia) in a statement just minutes after the jobs report was released. "The policies originating from this White House are creating an environment of uncertainty and fear for business people and employees, preventing investment and hiring." (source) Evidently Representative Cantor has a better grasp of what is happening and why it's happening than all those so called economic experts. Who knew that the hope in "hope and change" was the official economic policy of the Obama administration?

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele responded to the new data by saying that "for the millions of Americans who are unable to find work, this White House's empty cheerleading rings hollow."

The White House, specifically outgoing chairwoman of President Obama's Council of Economic Advisers Christina Romer, responded with more empty cheerleading saying, "The monthly employment and unemployment numbers are volatile and subject to substantial revision. Therefore, it is important not to read too much into any one monthly report, positive or negative. It is essential that we continue our efforts to move in the right direction and replace job losses with robust job gains."

The problem with that direction is it leads to unsustainable government jobs while choking the private sector with ever more threats of regulation and taxation. Today's report showed total government employment fell by 202,000 last month which was mostly the laying off of census workers. (source) Just like an amateur magician at a 10 year old's birthday party, it's "now you see it, now you don't" but the American people aren't 10 year olds and we see all the strings and mirrors, the cards up his sleeves and the sickly looking rabbit peeking out from under his hat.

In a seemingly unrelated note, President Obama taped an interview with CNBC during his birthday trip to Chicago in which he said he missed driving a car. "I can't do it. The Secret Service doesn't allow it," he said. "I miss nothing more than just driving right along Lake Shore Drive [along Lake Michigan in Chicago]. I would love to hop in a convertible right now on a nice day like today and drive all the way up along the lake. But I can't do it. So my driving is either at the Secret Service testing site, the training site there where you can do some J-turns and do some pretty spiffy moves, or the golf cart. Those are the two opportunities I get to drive, and I miss it tremendously." (source)

Given the obvious and continuing failure of his economic policies, his plummeting job approval rating and complete lack of leadership ability; Mr. Obama should get to drive along Lake Shore Drive and spend lots more time in a golf cart sooner than he planned.