Are We Better off Today than 4 years ago?

[courseofhistory]

I pretty much agree with this. I know it's Axelrod but it is still pretty much on the mark. Chris Wallace asked him if we are better off today than 4 years ago.

"Here's what I can say, Chris," answered Axelrod, who advises Obama's reelection campaign. "We are in a better position than we were in the economy in the sense that when the president took office, we were losing 800,000 jobs a month, and the quarter before he took office was the worst since the Great Depression. We are [now] in a different place: 29 straight months of job growth and private sector jobs. Are we where we need to be? No."

Axelrod then pointed out that Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney had failed to outline a specific alternative during his speech at the Republican National Convention last Thursday -- a convention that Axelrod called "a terrible failure."

...

"I think the average American recognizes it took years to create the crisis that erupted in 2008 and peaked in January 2009," Axelrod said. "It's going to take some time to work through it."

Link

 

[Sherry]

Keep applauding.

 

[Conservadude]

I pretty much agree with this. I know it's Axelrod but it is still pretty much on the mark. Chris Wallace asked him if we are better off today than 4 years ago.

"Here's what I can say, Chris," answered Axelrod, who advises Obama's reelection campaign. "We are in a better position than we were in the economy in the sense that when the president took office, we were losing 800,000 jobs a month, and the quarter before he took office was the worst since the Great Depression. We are [now] in a different place: 29 straight months of job growth and private sector jobs. Are we where we need to be? No."

Axelrod then pointed out that Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney had failed to outline a specific alternative during his speech at the Republican National Convention last Thursday -- a convention that Axelrod called "a terrible failure."

...

"I think the average American recognizes it took years to create the crisis that erupted in 2008 and peaked in January 2009," Axelrod said. "It's going to take some time to work through it."

Link

You left out the statistics Wallace threw out:

Unemployment: 7.8% then, 8.3% now
Median income: $54,983 then, $50,964 now
Gas prices: $1.85 per gallon then, $3.78 now
National debt: $10.6 trillion then, $15.9 trillion now

Video: Axelrod dodges the “better off four years ago” question; Update: Video fixed « Hot Air

Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley was also asked this question..

Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) broke with his party Sunday to say Americans are not better off than they were four years ago — but said that’s not what the November election is about.

Democrats have been studiously avoiding the “are Americans better off today?” question, but O’Malley addressed it head-on during an appearance on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

“No,” he answered host Bob Schieffer, two days before the start of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C. “But that’s not the question of this election.”

He continued, according to BuzzFeed: “Without a doubt, we are not as well off as we were before George Bush brought us the Bush job losses, the Bush recessions, the Bush deficits, the series of desert wars, charged for the first time to credit cards — the national credit card.”

Maryland Democratic Gov. Martin O’Malley Admits: No, We’re Not Better Off Than We Were 4 Years Ago | Video | TheBlaze.com

Thanks Gov.. That's all we needed to know. .

 

[Moonglow]

The only asshats with their head in the sand is the GOP.

 

[Moonglow]

Gas was under a dollar when Dubya took office and during his tenure reached over 4 bucks a gallon, the only reason gas prices lowered was the fact that the great recession was in full affect.

 

[Katzndogz]

Short answer is No. People aren't better off today than they were four years ago. obama's answer is that even if you aren't better off, it's not his fault.

 

[Darkwind]

I pretty much agree with this. I know it's Axelrod but it is still pretty much on the mark. Chris Wallace asked him if we are better off today than 4 years ago.

"Here's what I can say, Chris," answered Axelrod, who advises Obama's reelection campaign. "We are in a better position than we were in the economy in the sense that when the president took office, we were losing 800,000 jobs a month, and the quarter before he took office was the worst since the Great Depression. We are [now] in a different place: 29 straight months of job growth and private sector jobs. Are we where we need to be? No."

Axelrod then pointed out that Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney had failed to outline a specific alternative during his speech at the Republican National Convention last Thursday -- a convention that Axelrod called "a terrible failure."

...

"I think the average American recognizes it took years to create the crisis that erupted in 2008 and peaked in January 2009," Axelrod said. "It's going to take some time to work through it."

Link

You agree with Axelrod when he says we were losing 800k jobs a month?

Where you an infant in 2009?

We had ONE MONTH were the job loss was over 750k......we DID NOT HAVE MONTHS of 800k job losses.

 

[LoneLaugher]

Better off. And getting even better. No thanks to the GOP.

 

[midcan5]

Are you worse off because Obama was elected and he didn't help you out, as you are too lazy for work, and require the government to make things better for you?

Or you are entitled to the government helping make it better for you every four years all the while whining that the particular government in power hasn't made it better for you?

Why does this question contradict the intent of the question? I thought the right did it all on their own, from nothing, did I miss a qualification or footnote?

The Contemporary Condition: The Real Entitlement Crisis


"Perhaps if a Democrat explained how all Americans have actually benefited from the standards (I do not say achievement) of racial and gender equity as these have been articulated since the 1950s, the Republican Party wouldn’t have such a lock on the votes of white males. Perhaps if a Democrat could honestly say to working-class women that they don’t need to depend on their families for child care—especially men with incomes, but also relatives with time to watch the kids—the Republican Party would finally become the exclusively white, all-male country club it wants to be." Revisiting False Consciousness | Politics and Letters

 

[Darkwind]

Better off. And getting even better. No thanks to the GOP.

The consumers of government services will always be better off when they are in chains.

 

[Mr. Shaman]

Keep applauding.

That would be the Republican-position, I'd expect, when Obama was smackin'-the-shit outta them, at their Caucus.....

......where THEY expected to "ambush" HIM!!!

.

.

.

.

.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1y04g6OPLnQ]Obama Dismantles Republican Caucus Part 1 of 7 - YouTube[/ame]​

 

[LoneLaugher]

Better off. And getting even better. No thanks to the GOP.

The consumers of government services will always be better off when they are in chains.

Are you suggesting that I am a recipient of public assistance?

 

[francoHFW]

Much better than the abyss of Jan. 2009. Great job, Pubbies! And THEN the biggest obstruction EVER. What lying a-holes and stupid stupid hater dupes.

 

[alan1]

Every four years I am better off than I was four years previous. It's been that way for my entire life, thus I can conclude that the party that occupies the Whitehouse isn't in control of my personal situation.
Now then, somebody that relies on the government for their well being may feel differently.

 

[Interpol]

If there's anyone here who would prefer to go back to exactly 4 years ago and have the economy that George W. Bush and the Republicans gave us, than by all means, vote Romney-Ryan.

I'd prefer to move forward.

The debt is concerning, but anyone who reads regularly will see that much of the $5+ trillion larded onto the debt was the fact that this administration took responsibility for putting two inherited wars on the books, paying for Medicare Part D, extending the Bush Tax Cuts on everyone, and saving GM.

Most of it was Bush spending continued, which Republicans didn't seem to have a problem with 4 years ago.

4 years ago, Bin Laden and Gaddafi were alive. They've been wiped off the face of the planet since then, but if you want to go back to a world where two people like that are still a threat to America, than by all means, vote for Romney-Ryan.

 

[blackhawk]

Exactly what else would Alexrod say? Of course he is going to try and put a happy face on the last four years that's expected but if you ask that question of the general public not a spokesman for either party I suspect they will say they are about the same or worse off I doubt you will find many who will say they are better off.

 

[Rozman]

And the President feels that the private sector is doing just fine so he feels job well done as he goes out and about among his worshipers.

 

[francoHFW]

Romney will continue to kill the nonrich and the country. See sig pp1.

I know, let's cut taxes on the bloated rich, destroy Medicare and health reform, raise taxes and fees on the nonrich, let corporate cheats run wild, cut aid to states and localities, raise military spending to more than the rest of the world combined, and worry about the debt in 2035. Absolute idiocy, dupes