Gary
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2008 was the bottom of the Great Recession, any comparison to that economic abyss would indicate that things are "way way better".  That being said the performance of pollsters during the US elections and the British EC vote has caused me to question the methodology that they employ to divine the current mood and future developments.
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In my humble opinion  Obama's presidency has been one of the great tragedies in recent political history. Between 2008 and 2010 the Democrats controlled all the levers of power. The opportunity to enact New Deal type stimulus programs and finance reform was squandered.  Obama Care was a sop to the Kennedy family for their early support of Obama's campaign.
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Eric Hoffer was a moral and social philosopher.  You would do well to become more familiar with his works, to wit:
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"In a time of drastic change it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned usually find themselves equipped to live in a world that no longer exists."  -Eric Hoffer-