There's Never A Fact Checker Around When You Need One

After the first couple of days of the democrat convention, it seems clear that a major thrust of obama's re-election strategy is to claim Romney is bent on destroying the middle class, and to portray himself as the savior of said class. Of course, when obama's record is examined it reveals just the opposite.

The Middle Class Is Shrinking And Millions Of Families Are Hurting. “The latest census data depict a middle class that's shrinking as unemployment stays high and the government's safety net frays. The new numbers follow years of stagnating wages for the middle class that have hurt millions of workers and families.” (Hope Yen, “Census Shows 1 In 2 People Are Poor Or Low-Income,” The Associated Press, 12/15/11)

Many Of The 'New Poor' Are The Former Middle Class. (Mary Wisniewski, “Poverty To Keep Rising Due To Slow Recovery: Study,” Reuters, 1/11/12)

The Recovery Has Failed To Produce The Middle Class Jobs Obama Campaigned On. “Barack Obama campaigned four years ago assailing President George W. Bush for wage losses suffered by the middle class. More than three years into Obama’s own presidency, those declines have only deepened. The rebound from the worst recession since the 1930s has generated relatively few of the moderately skilled jobs that once supported the middle class, tightening the financial squeeze on many Americans, even those who are employed.” (Mike Dorning, “Obama Fails To Stem Middle-Class Slide He Blamed On Bush,” Bloomberg, 4/30/12)

Median Household Income: “Real Median Household Income In March Was Down $4,300 Since Obama Took Office In January 2009 …” (Mike Dorning, “Obama Fails To Stem Middle-Class Slide He Blamed On Bush,” Bloomberg, 4/30/12)

Savings: 23.4 Percent Of Families Have No Savings At All, Up From 18.5 Percent In 2009. (Christine Dugas, “Recession Added Debt, Drained Families’ Savings,” USA Today, 5/12/12)

Poverty: 97.3 Million Americans Now Qualify As Low-Income And Another 49.1 Million Are In Poverty; Together, 146.4 Million Americans Or 48 Percent Of The Population. (Hope Yen, “Census Shows 1 In 2 People Are Poor Or Low-Income,” The Associated Press, 12/15/11)

Government Assistance: “49.1%: Percent Of The Population That Lives In A Household Where At Least One Member Received Some Type Of Government Benefit In The First Quarter Of 2011.” (Phil Izzo, “Number Of The Week: Half Of U.S. Lives In Household Getting Benefits,” The Wall Street Journal’s “Real Time Economics,” 5/26/12)

Food Stamps: Since President Obama Took Office, The Number Of Americans Receiving Food Stamps Has Increased From 31.9 Million To 46.7 Million, A 46 Percent Increase. (Department Of Agriculture, 8/30/12)

 So tell me again...who is destroying the middle class?

And what is the mainstream media and the legion of fact-checkers reaction to the obama campaign's disingenuous claim?

*crickets*

Although, to be fair, CNN did call BS on one misleading democrat claim.

Anyone watching the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday night heard the number 4.5 million several times.

"Despite incredible odds and united Republican opposition, our president took action, and now we've seen 4.5 million new jobs," San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, the party's keynote speaker, said.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who served as President Barack Obama's chief of staff, and Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, who followed Obama's November rival Mitt Romney as governor of Massachusetts, both cited the same number.

The facts:

Nonfarm private payrolls hit a post-recession low of 106.8 million that month (Jan. 2010), according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The figure currently stands at 111.3 million as of July.

While that is indeed a gain of 4.5 million, it's only a net gain of 300,000 over the course of the Obama administration to date. The private jobs figure stood at 111 million in January 2009, the month Obama took office.

And total nonfarm payrolls, including government workers, are down from 133.6 million workers at the beginning of 2009 to 133.2 million in July 2012. There's been a net loss of nearly 1 million public-sector jobs since Obama took office, despite a surge in temporary hiring for the 2010 census.

Meanwhile, the jobs that have come back aren't the same ones that were lost.

According to a study released last week by the liberal-leaning National Employment Law Project, low-wage fields such as retail sales and food service are adding jobs nearly three times as fast as higher-paid occupations.

Conclusion:

The figure of 4.5 million jobs is accurate if you look at the most favorable period and category for the administration. But overall, there are still fewer people working now than when Obama took office at the height of the recession.

So there are fewer people employed now than when obama plunked himself down in the Oval Office. Not only that, but we're shedding high-paid jobs for lower-wage ones.

Again, who is destroying the middle class?