Oh yes, I am absolutely serious about that post title. Barack Obama is better than the eleven presidents who held the office before him. In fact, he's better than all eleven of them combined.
The unfortunate thing for Obama is the category where he is better than his predecessors:
What this graphic shows is that Obama's jobs record - 43 months of unemployment over 8% - is a longer run of high unemployment than the previous eleven presidents combined.
Basically, from the moment the Bureau of Labor Statistics started keeping track of unemployment data in 1948, all the way up to the day Obama was sworn into office, all of that doesn't add up to what Obama had in less than one term.
Think about it.
The aftermath of World War II and reintroducing all the veterans to the job market. The turmoil of the 1960s. Nixon's attempts at price controls. Skyrocketing oil prices under Jimmy Carter. The bursting of the internet bubble. The 9/11 terrorist attacks.
All of that, plus every other downturn, challenge, and bump in the road, combined, from 1948 until 2009, still adds up to fewer high unemployment months than Obama.
But, hey, Mr. President, just keep blaming it on Bush.
The unfortunate thing for Obama is the category where he is better than his predecessors:
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| (Click to enlarge) |
Basically, from the moment the Bureau of Labor Statistics started keeping track of unemployment data in 1948, all the way up to the day Obama was sworn into office, all of that doesn't add up to what Obama had in less than one term.
Think about it.
The aftermath of World War II and reintroducing all the veterans to the job market. The turmoil of the 1960s. Nixon's attempts at price controls. Skyrocketing oil prices under Jimmy Carter. The bursting of the internet bubble. The 9/11 terrorist attacks.
All of that, plus every other downturn, challenge, and bump in the road, combined, from 1948 until 2009, still adds up to fewer high unemployment months than Obama.
But, hey, Mr. President, just keep blaming it on Bush.
Factor in the changes made in calculating and reporting the unemployment rate, designed to lower the number, and this is even more impressive!
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