The September jobs report comes out, and about half an hour later former GE CEO Jack Welch, a Romney supporter, posts the following tweet:

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

So Welch accuses the President, or the President’s team, of “cooking the books” on the unemployment numbers. Evidence? Much like the right on voter id Jack don’t need no stinkin evidence. No need to get into the weeds of how labor statistics are calculated, but Welch seems, when questioned, to be skeptical of the methodology. Question is did that methodology change for this report? Of course it did not. For a look under the hood go to Ezra Klein over at the wonkblog, where he gets a bit detailed, but thoroughly debunks Welch.

So is Welch just a windbag spouting crackpot theories? I personally don’t think so. Welch has managed to shift the conversation from a somewhat positive jobs report to the President and Democrats having to defend the validity of numbers that have been calculated the same way for decades. The conversation has shifted from a positive one for the President to whether Jack Welch is a nut, and you have plenty of serious crackpots willing to pick up the gauntlet Welch has thrown down. Welch, with one tweet, has managed to throw a good message for the President off course slightly. That is not the work of a crackpot, but rather the work of a campaign with no shame.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32545640

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy