Was this growth fueled by borrowing?
And. Why didn't the growth keep going?
Look closer at it. Since the GHW Bush Presidency the highs have rarely got above the previous lows. And that's the real problem. Turning it into a blame game for different parties is the way children react and nothing gets fixed.
The trend, under what ever President or party rules, has been down.
Now put up a trend on Government spending.
See the problem?
And it's not just the US, it's most of the Western World.