Originally Posted by raymor

I wanted an unbiased representation, so without knowing the numbers I decided economic growth was the best indicator. I then looked up the economic growth numbers and ran the graph myself so I wouldn't be influenced by someone trying to make a graph that looked a certain way.

I had planned to see if the numbers were better under some presidents or parties than others. What I learned was that the direction of the numbers was more interesting. Bush II was the first republican to have the line go down - to leave the economy worse off than when he started.

I haven't made a fresh graph, but I have looked at the numbers so I know what it looks like. The line goes flat at the end of Bush, representing little growth, then free falls below zero under Obama.