Ex-GE CEO Welch sets Twitter on fire with jab at Obama on jobs

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Yahoo News:

BOSTON/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Jack Welch, the lionized former chairman of General Electric Co, provoked cries of outrage in Washington on Friday when he appeared to accuse the White House of manipulating September job figures for political gains.

White House officials dismissed as "ludicrous" a tweet Welch sent to his more than 1.3 million followers that suggested U.S. President Barack Obama's administration rigged the data as a way of recovering from a poor Wednesday night showing in a debate against Mitt Romney, his Republican challenger for the White House.

"Unbelievable jobs numbers..these Chicago guys will do anything..can't debate so change numbers," Welch said in a posting on Twitter, apparently referring to Obama, who formerly served as a senator from Illinois.

The tweet was repeated more than 2,000 times, with many mocking posts comparing Welch to New York real estate tycoon Donald Trump - who during his failed bid for the presidency loudly argued that Obama was not born in the United States - and Clint Eastwood, who gave a widely panned speech to an empty chair at the Republican National Convention in August.

Officials in Washington quickly dismissed the idea that the Labor Department report - which showed U.S. unemployment falling to a four-year low of 7.8 percent - could be rigged.

"That's a ludicrous comment. No serious person believes that the bureau of labor statistics manipulates its statistics," said Alan Krueger, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers. "The jobs report and all of their other statistics are prepared by career employees. They use the same process every month. They use the same process for Republican and Democratic administrations."

The tweet was by no means Welch's first criticism of Obama on his Twitter feed, where he has regularly spoken out in favor of Romney, as well as weighing in on sports. During the presidential debate in Denver, Colorado, on Wednesday night, Welch tweeted: "HOW can anyone vote for Obama after this performance..he has demonstrated his incompetence."

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Tweeting on the Twit-In-Chief.