just more partisan BULLSHITHe had a DUI, don't you know whatever happens to you in your teenage years follows you the rest of your life?
His being AWOL is up to debate.
We are quite in a depression right now. Though it all depends on how you define depression.
Financial Industry in ruins? Check
American Auto Industry on it's last legs? Check
Unemployment skyrocketing, over 10% in some places including in my home state of RI? Check
Economics define a depression as a sustained (12+ months) long downtown in one or more economies. Do we have that? You betcha
Abnormal increases in Unemployment as listed above? Yes
Restriction of Credit? Yes, which is why all these companies are failing now including the auto industry. They have the money, it's the liquidation of credit to money is the problem.
Shrinking output and investment? Oh yeah
Numerous Bankruptcies? Lehman Brothers, DHL (cancelled all domestic US services), Bennigan's Restaurants, Metromedia Restaurant Group, Aloha Airlines, Media Outsourcing,etc. That's not counting the great number of companies declaring chapter 11.
Reduced amounts of trade and commerce? Have you seen the retail numbers lately for stores? If so, then you know the answer to this.
Highly volatile relative currency value fluctuations, mostly devaluations? Have you seen the stock market? The Dow Jones for example has never gone this up or down in a day in many many years.
What more do you need to see we are in a depression? People jumping off buildings or driving into the ocean killing themselves due to the huge amount of debt they have? Because if so, we already have that.
Once again, I say Denial ain't just a river in egypt.
I think it's best you take a economics class or two first and learn the definition of a depression before you go sprouting off whether you THINK we are in one or not. Your political leanings do not matter in business and whether this country has become a giant clusterfuck depression.