The recession that plunged the world into a downturn in 2008 and 2009 has been over for a while, and recovery - at least in countries not led by Obama and the Democrats - are thriving.

Germany's unemployment rate just hit an 18 year low:

The number of jobless fell by 3,000 to a seasonally adjusted 3.153 million, figures from the Labor Office showed on Thursday, while the headline level dipped to 2.945 million, confirming figures announced a day earlier.

The headline reading fell below the 3 million mark - a key political threshold - for the first time since November 2008, to its lowest point since October 1992.

On an adjusted basis, the jobless rate held steady at 7.5 percent, while economists had forecast 7.4 percent.

"Although October's decline in unemployment turned out weaker than expected, the underlying trend in the German labor market clearly remains one of rapid improvement on the back of strong economic growth," said Aline Schuiling from ABN Amro.

Meanwhile, we have anemic growth and no job creation. Even in the quasi-socialist governments of western Europe, there is an understanding of how to get an economy moving after a painful recession. 

There is also leadership - something that is sorely lacking in the United States at this time.