How many jobs?

Exactly how many jobs have been created since Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was swept into office in the 2003 recall? That may sound like a bone of contention between Schwarzenegger and his foes, but it is actually an argument being played out among the pro-Schwarzenegger forces. The growth of the economy, and the reduction of the state's budget deficit are expected to be prominent Schwarzenegger campaign themes this fall. Today, the governor's campaign has released it first television ad of the campaign (though the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has been airing pro-Schwarzenegger pieces for the last several weeks.) You can find the new ad here. Here's the text of the ad: "Tomorrow is going to be a little better than today for Californians because we've pulled our state back from the brink of bankrupcy. We've dramatically reduced the state's deficit, cut the unfair car tax, reformed the worker's comp system, and created 500,000 new jobs. Governor Schwarzenegger's leadership is making California work again." The exact number of jobs created, however, seems to vary awfully quickly. In their ads, the U.S. Chamber has been touting the governor's economic record, including 400,000, not 500,000, new jobs. Here's what the Chamber piece had to say: Remember? California was $22 billion in the red, the car tax tripled, jobs and businesses were leaving, a state literally in the dark. Arnold Schwarzenegger delivered. Repealing the car tax hike, cutting the deficit, refusing to raise taxes, helping create 400,000 new jobs, and expanding trade. There's hard work ahead. But with his heart in the right place, Schwarzenegger is helping California compete. Later today, Gov. Schwarzenegger is scheduled to tour Trademark Plastics in Riverside and "tout the more than 575,000 jobs that have been created in the state during the Schwarzenegger administration." The event is the first in a series planned to push the successes of the economy since Schwarzenegger took office. The campaign will almost certainly settle on an estimate of the number-of-jobs-created soon--but for a now a clear campaign of "Schwarzenegger helps economy" is emerging.