I agree, don't count government jobs.

No administration wants to do that however, since growing government is about the only accomplishment they have. Also leaving out those types of jobs make the job numbers even worse.

I agree, db, I would have looked at private sector jobs only. I would also have looked at the percentages of working people, and part time employment, and pay level of the jobs supposedly "created" compared to the ones lost.
It appears that the article and its stats are based on government sources which are biased to appear favorable for the party in power according to independent sources (e.g., http://www.shadowstats.com.)
I think the conclusion of better economy in "red" states may be true, but I think the source of stats is suspect.