Nancy Pelosi comes out of hiding to drop this little pearl of wisdom on us:

While we are glad there is some good news for the American people, this jobs report does not fundamentally change the fact that President Bush’s handling of the economy is not good for America’s middle-income families,” Pelosi charged in a statement released after the Labor Department put out its October numbers.

“The President has the worst jobs record since the Great Depression, and the economy is slowing due to the housing slump. The budget and trade deficits as well as public debt levels have all climbed to record levels,” Pelosi said.

Worst jobs record since the Great Depression?  Let’s analyze that a bit.

First, a run down of recent economic data:

1. Unemployment down to 4.4%.
2. 92,000 new jobs created in October.
3. 470,000 new jobs over the last three months.
4. Our economy has now added jobs for 38 straight months.
5. Real, after-tax income has risen by 9.8% in the last six years.  That’s $2,660, on average, that’s staying in the pocket of every single American rather than going to the government in taxes.

Now let’s review some of the unemployment rates from the Great Depression:

• 1930: 8.7%
• 1931: 15.9%
• 1932: 23.6%
• 1933: 24.9%
• 1934: 21.7%
• 1935: 20.1%
• 1936: 16.9%
• 1937: 17.2%
• 1938: 19.0%
• 1939: 17.2%
• 1940: 14.6%
• 1941: 9.9%

After 1941 unemployment really drops off (down to 1.2% in 1944) as America’s mobilization for WWII hit the economy, but you get my point.  Pelosi invocation of this country’s economy during the Great Depression is just plain childish.  I understand that Pelosi is a partisan politician and that all politicians are prone to overwrought hyperbole when it comes to criticizing their opponents, but what Pelosi is doing goes beyond mere exaggeration.  She’s just plain lying.

America’s economy now is nothing like it was during the Great Depression, and saying that it is as though that were a fact is not only an outrageous lie but also an insult to those Americans who had to struggle through that period of our nation’s history.  And not only that, it does a disservice to the economic lessons that era of history teaches us.

And just think, if the Democrats win on Tuesday this idiot could be Speaker of the House.

Update: Even if you look at this as the worst economy since the Great Depression Pelosi is still full of it.

The unemployment rate under Bush peaked at 6.4%.  Since the Great Depression unemployment has been higher than that seven times.

The fact that we went through the .com bubble burst, a unprecedented terror attack that completely shut down our country’s air travel and not one but two wars and extremely high energy prices and only hit 6.4% unemployment is a testament to good political leadership.