Romney Better Off for Not Asking as Economy Improves Since 2009

Mitt Romney routinely asks voters whether they’re better off than they were four years ago. He’d be better off asking another question: What has the president done for you lately?

At this point in 2008, amid the worst financial panic since 1929, the U.S. economy was melting down, contracting 8.9 percent in the fourth quarter of that year. Today, by most measures, the economy is in far better shape. Of 70 indicators compiled by Bloomberg, 51 -- including growth, hiring, housing starts and the stock market -- have improved from January 2009 when President Barack Obama took office.