Rolling Stone offers 55 numbers that show things have actually improved a lot under President Obama

[kpete]

The Obama Hope and Change Index: 6 Years of Progress, By the Numbers

55 figures that prove President Obama has accomplished more than you may realize

Peak unemployment, October 2009: 10 percent
Unemployment rate now: 5.9 percent
Consecutive private sector job growth: 55 months
Private sector jobs created: 10.3 million
Federal deficit, 2009: 9.8 percent of GDP
Deficit in 2014: 2.8 percent of GDP
Average under Ronald Reagan: 4.2 percent of GDP
Average tax rate for highest earners 2008: 28.1 percent
Average tax rate for highest earners 2013: 33.6 percent
Banks regulated as too big to fail, 2009: 0
Banks regulated as "systemically important financial institutions" — a.k.a. too big to fail — 2014: 29
Billions returned to consumers by Consumer Financial Protection Bureau enforcement: $4.6 billion
Americans compensated for being swindled by banks, lenders and credit card companies: 15 million
Dow Jones close, inauguration day 2009: 7,949
Dow Jones yesterday: 16,719
Required MPG (miles per gallon) for cars when Obama took office: 27.5
Required MPG for light trucks/SUVs when Obama took office: 23
MPG requirement by 2016 for cars, light trucks/SUVs: 35.5
MPG required by 2025: 54.5
Gigawatts of wind power installed when Obama took office: 25
Gigawatts of wind power installed through end of 2013: 61
Peak summertime solar power generation June 2008: 128 gigawatt hours
Peak summertime solar power generation June 2014: 2,061 gigawatt hours
Coal burned in electrical generation 2008: 1 billion short tons
Coal burned in electrical generation 2013: 858 million short tons
Reduction: 14.2 percent
EPA-proposed CO2 reductions for power sector by 2030: 30 percent
Pell grant funding 2008-2009: $18 billion
Pell grant funding 2013-2014: $33 billion
Adults gaining insurance under first year of Obamacare: 10.3 million
As a percentage of the uninsured: 26
Annual cost for birth control prior to Obamacare: Up to $600
Annual cost for birth control under Obamacare-compliant policies: $0
Prescriptions now required to obtain emergency contraception: 0
2009 projection for Medicare going broke: 2017
2014 projection for Medicare going broke: 2030
Troops in Iraq, inauguration day 2009: 144,000
Troops in Iraq today: 1,600
Osama bin Ladens alive 2009: 1
Osama bin Ladens alive 2014: 0
Troops in Afghanistan, day, 2009: 34,400
Troops pledged in Afghanistan by end of 2014: 9,800
Guantánamo detainees inauguration day 2009: 242
Gitmo detainees today: 149
Crack vs. Powder cocaine-crime sentencing disparity when Obama took office: 100:1
Crack vs. Powder disparity today: 18:1
Drug offenders eligible to seek early release under new sentencing guidelines: 46,000
States with medical marijuana, 2009: 13
Jurisdictions with medical marijuana today: 23 states, plus Washington, D.C.
States with legal recreational pot 2009: 0
States with legal recreational pot today: 2
Jurisdictions with marijuana legalization on the ballot in 2014: Alaska, Oregon, Washington D.C.
States where gay marriage was legal inauguration day 2009: Massachusetts, Connecticut
States where gay marriage is legal: 24, plus Washington, D.C. (soon to be 30 plus D.C., following Supreme Court refusal to intervene)
Immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children now shielded from deportation: 800,000

All the links to ALL FIFTY-FIVE:
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-obama-hope-and-change-index-6-years-of-progress-by-the-numbers-20141008

[Stallion]

1. Thanks-My Favorite Debt as Percentage of GDP LESS under Obama than Reagan

great bullet point

[tridim]

2. And that defines non-strawman Obama.

He has done amazing things, and sadly some will never know.

[Capt. Obvious]

3. Everyone's been wondering where she went

Now we now she moved onto the big time.

[betsuni]

4. Thank you for posting this!

Reference material to combat the endless Obama bashing. Obama bad 'cause there are still poor and unemployed people! Gitmo! Drones! So sick of it.

[winter is coming]

5. If you need to quote factoids at people to convince them they're better off,

they're not better off.

[NanceGreggs]

6. When "facts" ...

... are presented to people who refuse to accept any "facts" that don't agree with their fact-free notions, they label such facts as "factoids" (whatever the fuck that is).

A lot of people ARE better off - and endlessly bitchin' that they're not doesn't change that FACT.

[Andy823]

9. +1,000,000 nt

[Andy823]

8. K&R nt

[Number23]

10. Between the multiple stories of Obama's successes and the poll that put his support at 85% here

this is the best this forum has looked in YEARS.

I don't know if the incessant detractors are leaving or just shutting up as they realize how ineffective they are but I'm happy either way.

[grahamhgreen]

11. Kick