Keith- you wrote (in part only): "Unemployment increased dramatically after Obama took office. This was after his promise that the Stimulus Bill would keep unemployment below 8%. I am so glad you provided that link to Trading Economics.com.... it proves my point exactly. The chart which pops up looks very good for the one month period shown. But click on the date selection above the chart and change the 2010 to 2000, the year George Bush 46 took office. Man, your boy Obama doesn't look so good now, does he? Why would you give us a link to historical data that shows your boy has presided over the longest and deepest recession since the Depression? "

If you look at the chart you will see a huge initial rise in unemployment as the whole economy tanked. It coincided with Obama's election. Do you seriously mean to argue that the single event of his election triggered the increase? Or perhaps that it took a while to start getting it under control?

Obama has presided over the longest and severest recession since the Great Depression - that doesn't mean he caused it - and has done so quite competently.

You ask why I show these data? Because they are pretty good and aren't doctored (at least I don't think they are) and they show the whole story - not just snapshots. We might as well try to understand good data not some right or left-wing balderdash.

Here's another one: http://money.cnn.com/2011/09/21/news/economy/middle_class_income/index.htm

The middle wage-earners basically just "ran out of money and credit" by the end of the first decade of this century. Major contributor to the collapse and that didn't happen the moment Obama took office - that was the result of at least a decade of Republican policy. They still are trying to block tax-relief for the W-2 crowd!