Bob McDonell was speaking to the GOP Convention crowd last week, and he noted that Virginia's unemployment rate was way low, at 5.8%, and he noted that many of the states with the lowest unemployment rates are red states. It put me into "Yeah, but..." mode. Yes, Virginia's unemployment rate is low, but so what? It's almost beside the point.

McDonnell was trying to point out that life in red states is much better than in blue states, because Republicans are better at governing. If you're looking only at the current unemployment rate as a metric, at this point in time, red states seem to be at the top of the list when it comes to unemployment rate. But even that's a mixed bag, because they dominate the bottom of the list, as well.

(Before I continue, please note that I don't includ the District of Columbia in any of these stats, because they aren't a state, either technically or otherwise. Plus, most of their population is transient, and while they technically have "home rule," most decisions are made by Congress.)