If you look at the numbers, the job losses and unemployment rates in the U.S. aren't so bad. Granted, if you're one of the washed masses currently looking for work, the numbers don't matter, you just need a job. But when I look at the numbers I see that far more people are employed than ever have been in history, and the unemployment rate, though higher than before the dot.com bust, is lower than it was for most of the 70's, 80's, and 90's. You'll never hear John Kerry mention that, because people might realize that the recession we had was relatively minor, and only bad in comparison to the dot.com era. Any comparisons to the dot.com era are unfair, as that created one of the largest bubbles in history. In other words there were far more people employed at the time than the economy really could support. Now that we are more realistic numbers, and still better than just about any westernized country has ever been, the Democrats complain that we aren't at the miracle numbers of a few years ago. That sort of economy is just not sustainable, but the average American will simply listen to what the media tells them.