This Is How You Lie

"This year, we have added an average of 200,000 jobs per month, a majority in the private sector, a stark contrast to the Bush Administration record of losing an average of nearly 750,000 jobs per month in its last three months." ~ Nancy Pelosi

 The numbers are correct as Pelosi phrased them, but she is cherry-picking. Her selection of time periods for the comparison produces a picture that's as flattering as possible to the Democrats.  We think a listener hearing this would assume that President Barack Obama's job creation record stood in "stark contrast" to Bush's, when in fact the time periods Pelosi uses put Obama's record in the best possible light -- because it skips all of 2009 -- and puts Bush's in the worst possible light.

In all, then, the Speaker's portrayal of the numbers is technically accurate, but the general impression she gives -- that the record under a Democratic president and a Democratic Congress stands in "stark contrast" to the record under Bush -- is political spin based on selective choices about what data to use. We rate Pelosi's statement Half True. ~ Politifact
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2010/jun/04/nancy-pelosi/pelosi-touts-democratic-record-job-creation/

This is my favorite way to tell a lie.  Instead of completely making up stuff, just make up about half of it.  It's "technically accurate" but provides a misleading general impression.  Hey, the impression part of it's on you, the accuracy part is on me.  Well done, Nancy.