While the nation once again settles in for another day of blaming the current president for the wars we’ve been engaged in for (respectively) nine years and seven and a half years, for the perfectly fine economy he mucked up and for his failure as prophet (he promised unemployment wouldn’t go over 7%, 8%, 9%, take-your-pick) . . . here is something I know. I know that Iraq is Obama’s fault because he’s a Democrat and Iraq was their fault – or so said Dan Senor on Chris Mathews‘ tonight – and he got away with it. (Senor was the PR flack for Paul Bremmer when he was emperor of Iraq).
But about that economy thing. This is a chart that I created some time ago for another post in which I was referring to the far right column, a percentage increase in debt – by president. As I said then, taking any one of these line items alone would mean nothing. But over this period of nearly 70 years, the pattern is clear. And damning.
This time, I ask that you look at the number in the first column after Barack Obama’s name. Just look at it. It is the number he gets to start with. So look again at that number. The starting number. And weep. Obama’s economy my ass.
UPDATE: A commenter thinks the chart above explains nothing and asks ‘where are the jobs?’. So maybe these graphs will help him see where the jobs went. GOP loses jobs, DEMS have to get them back. Old story.
You can have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, or democracy. But you cannot have both.
Whatever Works 
Never mind pretending that Obama hasn’t quadrupled the annual deficits…
Where are the jobs ???
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Guess you think the table above means nothing? Starting with a debt at 84% of GDP is a place where no one can create jobs. This is much more htan a recession/depression. This is a structural change in how our economy, and thus our country, works.
Jobs won’t be back to Clinton levels for a very long time. And just for you, Cowboy, I’m posting a jobs chart in an update above.
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Since everything now requires 60 votes to pass the Senate, all the bills written to try to stimulate the economy have to be watered down and loaded with pork to attract a few Republican votes. Republicans do everything to block efforts to stimulate the economy and then they claim that Obama’s policies aren’t working. And right-wingers buy right into it.
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And come January, it’ll be too late. Dems won’t be able to muster up 60 votes to stipulate that the sun rises in the east.
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Hey Moe. Sorry for being away for so long, I have been very busy. I am currently without an online device, I am using my phone now. But I am about to throw down on an AWESOME Compact Laptop with vista in the next few days. I will be back with a vengeance, with my WP blog up and running and everything, a gravatar, blavatar, the works. Also, school is great. See you in a few…
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Missed you my friend. See you soon.
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Ms. Holland,
Really cute numbers. If the economy had turned around since Obama took office, tell me honestly, would you give President Bush the credit? I bet you would not. You would have said that it was because of the brilliance of our new leader. Since everything that Obama has done has only led to more unemployment, it is still Bush’s fault.
Tell me, for good or bad, just when does it become Barak and Joe’s fault. Just like Iraq, right. Now that it’s pretty good, it was Barak’s wonderfulness. If Iraq had turned to crap, like the Obama economy did, it would have been Bush, Bush, and of course Bush’s fault.
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Alan – I think you need to look at those charts again – the directions are pretty clear. What are you missing?
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Ms. Holland,
I do not like your charts. For one thing you ‘conveniently’ left off the years 1933 to 1945.
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I guess I figured half a century would be sufficient to make a point.
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