Four years ago today ... Dow $11,022.06, NASDAQ $2,186.57 at close

[zbdent]

and heading down.

Remember, after Obama won, the Republicans predicted the stock market would be far worse.

[gopiscrap]

1. Didn't it get down to 8500

by the time Obama got into office?

[progree]

2. Last Dow close under Clinton: 10,587. Last close under Bush II: 8,281. As for the S&P 500:

{#} U.S. Stock Market as measured by the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average

Tired of hearing the righties insist that companies are "too uncertain" to make investments? Well, the investor and business community sure seem to like Obama, considering the stock market. Since Obama took office, the S&P 500 is up _69_% (it declined 37% during G.W. Bush's 8 years of supposed business friendly and resolute firmness and certainty).

# S&P 500: http://finance.yahoo.com/q/hp?s=%5EGSPC+Historical+Prices
# Dow Jones Industrial Average: http://finance.yahoo.com/q/hp?s=%5EDJI+Historical+Prices
# Using the last closing before inauguration (G.W. Bush inaugurated noon Jan 20, 2001, Obama at noon, Jan 20, 2009)
. . # When Clinton left office and G.W. Bush took office, the S&P 500 was at 1343.
. . # When G.W. Bush left office and Obama took office, the S&P 500 was at 850.
. . # Thus under G.W. Bush, the S&P 500 dropped 37%, from 1343 to 850. While under Obama, it rose from 850 to 1433 as of Wednesday 9/26/12 close, up 69%.

(I use the S&P 500 rather than the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) because it is a much broader index of U.S. stocks, containing about 75% of the total U.S. stock market by capitalization. I would rather use the Dow Jones U.S. Total Stock Market Index (^DWC) but its history extends only back to 2004). Other U.S. total market indexes also extend back only a few years.

If you want to use the Dow Jones Industrials Average (an unweighted average of 30 stocks), ticker ^DJI , it is:
Dow Jones Industrial Average: http://finance.yahoo.com/q/hp?s=%5EDJI+Historical+Prices
Jan 19, 2001 10,587 Last Dow close under Clinton
Jan 16, 2009 8,281 Last Dow close under Bush (a 22% decline under Bush)
Sept 26, 2012 13,414 Latest Dow close as of this posting (a 62% increase under Obama)