January 20th, 2001 vs. January 20th, 2009

Now that the Bush Presidency is at an end let’s compare what the United States looked like when George W. Bush was entering office on January 20th, 2001 versus what it looks like today January 20th, 2009 as he is leaving.

DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE
1/20/01: 10,587 (close of Friday, Jan. 19, 2001)
1/20/09: 8,281 (close of Friday, Jan. 16, 2009)

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
1/20/01: 4.2% (Bureau of Labor Statistics, January 2001)
1/20/09: 7.2% (Bureau of Labor Statistics, December 2008)

FEDERAL BUDGET
1/20/01: $236.2 billion surplus (2000, Congressional Budget Office)
1/20/09: $1.2 trillion deficient (projected figure for 2009, Congressional Budget Office)

CONSUMER CONFIDENCE (1985=100)
1/20/01: 115.7 (Conference Board, January 2001)
1/20/09: 38.0, which is an all-time low (Conference Board, December 2008)

FAMILIES LIVING IN POVERTY
1/20/01: 6.4 million (Census numbers for 2000)
1/20/09: 7.6 million (Census numbers for 2007 -- most recent numbers available)

AMERICANS WITHOUT HEALTH INSURANCE
1/20/01: 39.8 million (Census numbers for 2000)
1/20/09: 45.7 million (Census numbers for 2007 -- most recent available)

SATISFIED WITH THE NATION'S DIRECTION
1/20/01: 55% (1/01 Pew Research Center Survey)
1/20/09: 20% (1/09 Pew Research Center Survey)

APPROVAL RATING OF THE OUTGOING PRESIDENT
1/20/01: 66% (1/01 NBC/WSJ poll)
1/20/09: 27% (1/09 NBC/WSJ poll)

And let’s not forget the worst domestic security failure in our nation’s history on September 11th, 2001 and the abandonment of New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.

So President Bush on your final day in office the people of the United States would like to say: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmGTmtTBlvs

:kick:

And if he can't fix it in 3 years will be blamed for it.