But according to National Review On-line and Instapundit (Glenn Reynolds), its all the fault of Black and Brown people! And they say we liberals are "un-American."

Ezra, I know you aren't taking requests right now, but I think it would also be helpful to display the same data for 2006 to dispel the myth that this is really about the last two years of Democratic control in Congress.

holy crap, they sure save the bombshell for the end, don't they?? A HUGE increase in productivity accompanied by losses in every economic indicator. We have got to get these assholes out of the White House.

A breakdown of family income by quintiles would probably show what's driving up the median. That would tarnish one of those 2008 checkmarks.

P.S. Does productivity growth really count as a "better off" category? Does anyone say, "My wages are down, but my productivity is growing faster than ever!"

Choosing certain years can be a bit superficial. If one looks at economic realities and trends and not who the president happens to be, the year 2000, regardless of who's in the WH, is a very odd year to use for comparisons unless you pick a year that equals it in terms of economic cycles to provide apples to apples comparisons. 2008 is not such a year.

The year 2000 was a high water mark and the last year of the tech/economic boom that had been going for the previous few years.

The check marks get very jumbled up if you pick more equivalent years.

Compare 1996 or 1997 (the last years before the late 90s economic boom) and see what you get.

It will be interesting to see how all the GOP-leaning bankers and businessmen who are getting laid off react when they start trying to widen their job search to other sectors and realize that if they want to get a job anytime soon, they'll have to take 50% paycuts. It's one thing to hear about how the economy outside your bubble is terrible -- it's another thing to become one of the struggling people.

I hesitate to enter the murky world of anecdotal stories, especially with such an inane and unrelated item, but your comments about tribalism in politics made me think of a comment I heard in Omaha last week from the proprieter of a motel:

"I don't care if the devil himself is on the Republican ticket, I'm voting Republican."

Laugh or cringe at your leisure.

Is that median income quoted as constant dollars? You should note that in the chart.

I agree with other posters. The productivity is the real outlier. It has been pointed out in the past, that workers were not seeing their fair share of the benefit in productivity growth, but management and shareholders were getting the bulk of it.

Don't forget the value of the dollar re: Euro, etc.

And don't forget the deficit -- all those numbers despite borrowing trillions from China.

Hey do you know who is the greatest of the US presidents if you rate them objectively like in Ezra's post? Warren G. Harding. He freed Wilson's political prisoners and presided over a period of peace and prosperity.

Hey do you know who rates among the best of the US presidents if you rate them objectively like in Ezra's post? Warren G. Harding! He freed Wilson's political prisoners and presided over a period of peace and prosperity. I bet the very conservative Clinton also would rate very high along with Silent Calvin Coolidge. Bush would be at the bottom with Hoover but also with Carter, FDR (years of depression and a big war) and LBJ. Funny that.

Best to say, "Is the country better off today than it was"?

20% of individuals might correctly say, yes, they actually are better off. Only a fraction will actually believe the country is better off.

I don't think it's quite right to blame the tight race on everyone's tribalism, just *some* people's tribalism. In my voting life, the best Republican president we ever had was Jerry Ford, and *he* pardoned Richard Nixon! While I readily admit that some people will vote Democratic without a clue as to what the party platform is or knowing anything about the candidates, I think that's much more common among the faith-based party than the reality-based party. And anyone who thinks Sarah Palin is fit to serve as Vice President or, God forbid, President, is *definitely* not based in reality!

good thing the chart doesn't show what the end of 2000 looked like.......