From Krugman 1/12/09 (nyt.com)




How did Bush do that?

I know, I know — “Presidents don’t have much effect on the economy,” etc.. But that’s not what the usual suspects were saying just a few months ago.

And in any case, there’s a mystery waiting to be solved: why were the last 8 years so bad? Even the good times weren’t all that good: by my quick count there were only 10 months under Bush in which the economy added as many jobs as it did in an average month under Clinton. How did Bush manage that?