Obama a Quantifiable Disaster

Obama a Quantifiable Disaster
by Gary Bauer
Posted 04/18/2011 ET

Presidential success can be measured in many ways—by the number of votes cast on a President’s behalf, by the number and nature of laws he’s signed, by the number of military conflicts he’s won or averted.

But a President’s success is most strongly linked with the quality of life of the people he leads. Unfortunately for our current President, by that measure Obama has thus far proved a quantifiable disaster. Let’s take a look at the numbers.

Unemployment rate:

January 2009: 7.8%

March 2011: 8.8%

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Unemployment rate among blacks:

December 2008: 11.9%

March 2011: 15%

Source: Labor Department

Number of Americans living below the poverty line:

2007: 37.2 million

2009: 46 million (a 15-year high)

Source: Census Bureau

Percentage of Americans polled who say jobs are difficult to find in their community:

February 2008: 53%

December 2010: 79%

Source: Pew Research Center for the People and the Press

Percentage of Americans polled who say jobs are difficult to find in their line of work.

February 2008: 46%

December 2010: 65%

Source: Pew Research Center for the People and the Press

Price of a barrel of crude oil:

January 2009: $45

April 2011: $106

Price of a gallon of regular-grade gasoline:

January 2009: $1.84

April 13, 2011: $4.10

Federal budget deficit:

2007: $163 billion

2011: $1.5 trillion

Source: Congressional Budget Office

U.S. National Debt:

January 2009: $10.7 trillion

April 2011: $14.2 trillion

Source: Treasury Department

Per-Capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP):

2008: $48,300

2010: $47,400

Source: The CIA World Factbook (in 2010 dollars)

Gross debt as percentage of GDP:

2007: 62%

2011 (projected): 100%

Source: International Monetary Fund

Share of U.S. public debt held by foreigners:

2007: 25%

2011: 47%

Source: Treasury Department

U.S. trade deficit:

February 2009: $26 billion

February 2011: $45.8 billion

Source: Census Bureau

Index price of food:
Jan. 2009: 128.

April 2011: 184.36.

A 50% increase in the cost to feed your family!

Source: Commodity Food Price Index (which measures the average international price of a basket of food, including cereal, vegetable oils, meat, seafood, sugar, bananas, and oranges).

The median price of U.S. resale homes (representing the decline in value of the largest asset for most Americans):

December 2009: $175,400.

February 2011: $156,100

Source: National Association of Realtors

U.S. Military casualties in Afghanistan:

2001-2008: 634

2009-2011: 858

Source: Department of Defense and other sources

Estimated number of Muslim-American terrorist suspects and perpetrators arrested:

2008: 2

2009-2010: 67

Source: “Muslim-American Terrorism Since 9-11: An Accounting,” by Professor Charles Kurzman of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Domestic terrorist targets:

2008: 0

2009-2010: 28

Source: “Muslim-American Terrorism Since 9-11: An Accounting” by Professor Charles Kurzman of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Rounds of golf:

President George W. Bush: 24

President Barack Obama: at least 62

Source: CBS’ Mark Knoller

Number of political fund-raisers attended in first year in office:

President George W. Bush: 6

President Barack Obama: at least 22

Source: CBS’ Mark Knoller

Percentage of Americans who think President Obama is a Christian:

March 2009: 48%

August 2010: 34%

Source: Pew Research Center for People and the Press

Per-student education-expenditures ranking among 30 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries:

U.S. elementary and secondary school students: 4 ($10,267)

U.S. post-secondary school students: 1 ($25,109)

More money, but no results!

Source: 2006 National Center for Education Statistics

America’s 2010 education ranking (using 2009 data):

Reading skills: 14

Science: 17

Mathematics: 25

Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Programme for International Student Assessmen(PISA) report comparing the knowledge and skills of 15-year-olds across 34 countries.

Share of Americans who say the country is on the right track:

May 2009: 40%

April 2011: 23%

Source: Rasmussen Reports

Share of Americans who say the country is on the wrong track:

May 2009: 55%

April 2011: 69%

Source: Rasmussen Reports

Barack Obama’s approval rating:

January 2009: 63% approve, 20% disapprove

April 2011: 47% approve, 48% disapprove

Source: Real Clear Politics

"We measure progress by the success of our people, by the jobs they can find, and the quality of life those jobs offer. By the prospects of a small-business owner who dreams of turning a good idea into a thriving enterprise, by the opportunities for a better life that we pass on to our children."

That definition, put forward by President Obama in his 2011 State of the Union Address, seems like a fairly good measure of what progress and success look like. Those words also capture better than any number or statistic why this President has failed and does not deserve four more years.