The country is divided 48% vs. 48% on whether it approves of the job President Obama is doing on the economy, according to the latest Washington Post poll.  George W. Bush at this time of his presidency (early 2007) was upside-down on this issue, according to the Washington Post poll at the time: 57% disapproved of his handling of the economy to only 41% who approved.

At the State of the Union address, Obama should thank the liberal hacks and Democrat operatives in the media for this difference in polling, because it is hardly backed up with the facts on the ground:

The unemployment rate is now 5.6% vs. 4.6% back then.  (If the workforce was then as small as it is now, Bush’s UR would be under two percent!)

The poverty rate is 14.5% vs. 12.5% back then.

Gas prices nationally averaged $2.54 in December vs. $2.31 the same December under Bush.

Weekly earnings (wages) were up 1.9% in 2014 vs. a 2.1% rise in 2006.

Household income (includes compensation beyond wages) was 5.5% lower last November than the same November under Bush.

The budget deficit was $483 billion last year vs. $264 billion the same time under Bush.  (As a percent of the economy it was 2.8% now vs. 1.8% back then, despite the wars.)

Car sales in 2014 reached almost 16.4 million units, but it’s weaker than the 16.5 million the same year under Bush, headlined by Businessweek at the time as “2006 Auto Sales: As Bad As Excepted”

Almost everywhere you look, Bush’s economy at this time of his presidency meets if not beats Obama’s economy despite the fact that Bush inherited a tech bubble and a recession from Bill Clinton followed by a devastating terrorist attack months later.  Yet despite a better economy, at the time and the years leading up to it, Bush was a negative 16 points on the economic issue while Obama is evenly split.  This can be attributed to the endless and ongoing items as to how great the economy is, including in news reports explaining why Obama’s poll numbers are rising.