American Crossroads wants to know what it is about President Obama’s first term indicates that “another four years would be better” if he wins the election. The answer is simple: Obama inherited an economy that was losing hundreds of thousands of jobs per month, as Americans suffered through the worst downturn since the Great Depression. Today the economy is growing – as evidenced by 4.97 million new private-sector jobs created in the last 32 months – and consumer confidence has climbed to its highest level since February 2008. The ad also blames the Obama’s spending for the rising debt, but the real culprits are Bush-era policies and the recession itself, and Republicans have repeatedly blocked Obama’s deficit-reduction proposals.

Clint Eastwood may not speak to an empty chair in the ad he filmed for American Crossroads, but he’s no less confused about President Obama’s record than he was during his infamous performance at the Republican National Convention. The octogenarian actor says, “In the last few years, America’s been knocked down,” ignoring nearly five million new private-sector jobs created in the last two-and-a-half years of growth. He also wrongly blames Obama for high deficits driven mainly by Bush policies, such as tax breaks for the wealthy, and the recession the president inherited.

In its latest attack on President Obama, American Crossroads pretends that the economic recovery is not happening, asking, “Where are the jobs you promised?” The economy was hemorrhaging jobs when Obama took office, but the private sector has created 4.7 million new jobs over the last 31 consecutive months of growth. Indeed, even counting the hundreds of thousands of job losses each month in early 2009, the latest data shows positive net job growth in Obama’s first term. Moreover, Crossroads dishonestly blames Obama for rising debt fueled by the recession and Bush-era policies, such as tax breaks for the wealthy and unfunded wars.