No. of Recommendations: 5
Facts First: Clinton’s claim is true, although aspects such as timing, rounding, and large-scale national crises influence the math.
Fair enough. Both Bushes had a recession during their Presidencies. I'd say it's reasonable to let them share some blame for that. After all, they had been in office for a while at point. (Bush the elder got hit with a recession about half way through his term. The recovery was still in progress as he left office. Bush the lesser ended his term as the banks were melting down.)
The pandemic is a slightly different issue. Hard to blame that on the President. (The response is his, but the fact that it happened isn't.) Even if you hold employment steady at the peak just before the pandemic, that would change the score to something like 11 to 40. Still a pretty bad rout by any measure.
--Peter
