>This is untrue. Ignoring Bush's recession, we've been on a non-stop upwards path in almost any metric that matters: gdp, gdp per capita, military power, science publishing, space, tech innovations, environment regulations, social progress, healthcare access, etc.

You mean, ignoring the Second Great Depression that, outside America's richest metro areas, never ended and is still ruining lives right now?

Oh yes, other than the unbearable, unfathomable misery of tens of millions of people, we're doing great!