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Jack Welch Tweet: Jobs Numbers An Obama Conspiracy [UPDATE]

Ex-GE CEO's Jobs Conspiracy Theory [UPDATE]

Not everyone celebrated Friday's jobs report, which showed that the unemployment rate dropped below 8 percent for the first time in nearly four years.

Ex-GE CEO Jack Welch called the numbers "unbelievable" and accused the Obama campaign of fudging them in a Tweet on Friday:

Unbelievable jobs numbers..these Chicago guys will do anything..can't debate so change numbers

— Jack Welch (@jack_welch) October 5, 2012

Update: Welch defended his tweet in an interview with the Wall Street Journal Friday. "I wasn't kidding," he said.
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Welch wasn't the only one to float jobs-related conspiracy theories Friday. Washington Examiner writer Conn Correll accused "a bunch of Dems" of lying about getting jobs and others described the drop as "just like magic," according to New York Magazine. But Welch's conspiracy theory isn't being taken too seriously. Felix Salmon of Reuters may have actually been the most generous in his response:

I'll give @jack_welch this: he is now way ahead of @rupertmurdoch in the crazy-old-man-on-twitter league tables

— Felix Salmon (@felixsalmon) October 5, 2012

Others less so:

@jack_welch You old loser.

— LiberalPhenom (@LiberalPhenom) October 5, 2012

And some just plain don't believe it:

I cannot believe a serious person like Jack Welch is suggesting BLS cooked these numbers. Disgraceful.

— Ben White (@morningmoneyben) October 5, 2012

Welch's secretary Roseanne Badowski told Bloomberg that her boss is the only one with access to his Twitter account. Don't expect Welch to flesh out his conspiracy theory anytime soon. The secretary also said that he's booked all day in meetings.

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