I wonder why you are interested in MY PARTICULAR take when there are scores of very good responses from other FReepers...
But since you insist:
1) S&P was in the pitts when Obama took office in 2008. It had nowhere to go but up. Of course he could get a better percentage increase.
It’s like saying that a third world country like the Philippines has a GDP growth of 6% while the USA had a GDP growth of 3%. The question to ask to be fair is this — what are you starting with?
Obama’s market was OVERSOLD.
2) People forget the ROLE OF THE FED in the stock market. The Fed LOWERED rates under Obama several times and kept them flat for years under Obama. This was a great economic tailwind for him.
OTOH, The Fed RAISED interest rates several times after Trump came into office ( despite the fact that the markets were still going up ). Trump had to scream bloody murder before the Fed stopped this summer.
What you’re seeing now is the result of a very accomodating Federal reserve.
3) The stock market is NOT the economy. It does reflect it somewhat, but the economy is MORE than the stock market. Look at jobs, labor force participation rate and wages. Look at company PROFITS to see how the two economies are performing when talking Trump vs Obama.
You hit the nail on the head with your response. This idiot piece focused on percentage, which is not the correct way to analyze the productivity or health of the stock market. But it sure makes it look like his argument is correct, to those who do not know better.
The fact that you went to the effort of listing his stupid graphs is what made me wonder if you were buying into this nonsense.
Now, even those who may not question your stance, know exactly where you stand with regards to this article. 8>)