Mitt Romney Isn't Promising His Plan Will Create Jobs, Except When He's Predicting His Plan Will Create Jobs

"Believe in America: Mitt Romney's Plan for Jobs and Economic Growth," the consultanty economic framework Mitt Romney's campaign released in Nevada earlier this week, works hard not to oversell its own virtues. It criticizes the Obama administration for making post-stimulus jobs and growth predictions that couldn't possibly be kept.

Romney's plan, on the other hand, declares early on its intention not to make the same mistake. On page 33, the plan cautions that it "does not promise the immediate creation of some imaginary number of jobs, because government cannot create jobs'"at least not productive ones that contribute to our long-term prosperity." How humble.

At last night's GOP debate in the Reagan library, however, Romney was considerably more willing to make predictions: "The plan I put forward just two days ago in Nevada," he said, "will grow our economy at 4 percent per year for four years and add'"add'"11.5 million jobs." So government can't create jobs, but Romney's policy plan can?