How's he doing? On the economy, a mixed bag

By Louis Jacobson
Published on Monday, December 13th, 2010 at 5:25 p.m.

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"Barack Obama is in an economy that's only worsened since he's been president of the United States."

Matthew Dowd, Sunday, December 12th, 2010.

Ruling: Half-True | Details

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Matthew Dowd, a former GOP strategist, said that the economy has worsened under Barack Obama. Has it?

Nearly two years into his term, now is as good a time as any to review the nation's economic performance under President Barack Obama. Matthew Dowd, a former Republican strategist speaking during a Dec. 12, 2010, roundtable on ABC's This Week with Christiane Amanpour, gave us the perfect excuse.

Dowd said that "Barack Obama is in an economy that's only worsened since he's been president of the United States."

We found that several key statistics, especially the gross domestic product and worker earnings, have improved since Obama took office. But the issue uppermost in most Americans' minds -- the job picture -- has worsened during Obama's tenure. So, on balance, we split the difference and rated Dowd's statement Half True.