Sue Simmons
(Editors note: These facts have been taken from factcheck.org. There is more about each subject under Obamas numbers.)
Obamas numbers Statistical measures of the presidents term to date. Source: Factcheck.org.
For more than a year, weve been pointing out on a regular basis how President Obama, his allies and his critics all misuse or even fabricate statistics to give voters a skewed picture of reality. This time well just offer the accurate numbers.
Here is an accurate statistical picture of key changes that occurred since Obama took office in January 2009. The indicators are all derived from the most authoritative and up-to-date sources available.
Federal Debt Federal debt has soared under Obama, driven by a string of annual federal deficits exceeding $1 trillion each. The president inherited a gusher of red ink, which has continued despite his promise to cut deficits in half. Income and Poverty Typical families and households have suffered financially since Obama took office, and poverty has increased.
Unemployment & Jobs According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for January 2009, the month the president took office, was 7.8 percent. And thats exactly where it stood in September 2012, too. But the more than three-and-a-half years in between have been a wild and painful ride. The jobless rate was soaring when Obama took the oath of office. It had been as low as 4.9 percent in 2008, and it continued rising to a peak of 10 percent only nine months after he began his term. From there it took nearly two years to drift down to below 9 percent, and it remained above 8 percent until an unexpected drop of 0.3 percent in September.
Food Stamps A rise in the number of persons on food stamps accelerated under Obama. This form of federal aid is now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and it no longer employs paper coupons but uses plastic cards similar to bank or credit cards.
Energy Indicators The average price of regular gasoline at the pump, as any motorist is painfully aware, has been near historic highs for much of Obamas term. According to the Energy Information Administration, the average was $1.85 the week ending Jan. 19, 2009. And it had more than doubled to $3.80 as of the week ending Oct. 1, 2012. Thats an increase of 106 percent, to be exact.
Guns Gun sales have boomed under Obama, who did not deliver on campaign pledges to restore the Assault Weapons Ban that expired in 2004 or to require background checks for guns sold by non-dealers at gun shows. Reliable statistics on total sales dont exist, but U.S. makers of firearms do report figures on new weapons produced each year. War, Terrorism & World Opinion The president wound down the war in Iraq, but expanded the war in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, he failed to close the military detention camp for suspected terrorists in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as he promised, but the number of persons held there has declined by nearly a third. And through all this, U.S. standing in world opinion remains low in most of the Muslim world, but has greatly improved in rich democracies in Europe and Asia.