So which number is it?

Of course, the number of jobs "saved or created" is meaningless, but the WH can't even agree on the same number.

Senior White House adviser David Axelrod, on CNN’s State of the Union: “But understand that, in this recession that began at the beginning of 2007, we've lost 7 million jobs. Now, the Recovery Act the president passed has created more than — or saved more than 2 million jobs. But against 7 million, you know, that — that is — it is cold comfort to those who still are looking.”

Senior White House adviser Valerie Jarrett, on NBC’s Meet the Press: “The Recovery Act saved thousands and thousands of jobs. There are schoolteachers and firemen and— and— teachers all across our country, policemen, who have jobs today because of that recovery act. We're investing in infrastructure. We're investing in public education so that our kids can compete going forth into the next— generation.”

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, on “Fox News Sunday”: “Well, chris, let's take for instance the example you just used of the stimulus package. We had four quarters of economic regression in terms of growth, right? Just last quarter, we finally saw the first positive economic job growth in more than a year. Largely as a result of the recovery plan that's put money back into our economy, that saved or created 1.5 million jobs.”

Not surprisingly, the administration claims that these numbers are not contradictory. At the Monday press briefing, Gibbs pointed to the CEA report saying: “As of the fourth quarter of 2009, the ARRA has raised employment relative to what it otherwise would have been by 1½ to 2 million.” I wasn't surprised by this, but I am not sure how it fits in Jarrett's comments and it is just amusing that