How the State of the Economy Has Changed Under Obama

[Geee]

Daily Finance:

The economy may be showing signs of improving, but try telling that to the millions of Americans still struggling to make ends meet. That disconnect is one of several problems President Barack Obama faces as he prepares to deliver his second State of the Union message -- an event that coincides with the rising power of the Republican Party following last year's midterm elections.

Obama has the daunting task in his speech of refuting GOP claims that he's antibusiness -- while at the same time trying not to alienate his liberal supporters. His midterm move to the political center is becoming more apparent every day. The president recently picked General Electric (GE) CEO Jeffrey Immelt to head an economic advisory group, and he has named former Commerce Secretary and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) exec William Daley as his new White House Chief of Staff.

Then and Now

But before discussing where Obama wants to take the country, it's important to remember where it has been. Upon taking office, Obama inherited two costly wars and an economy that had violently imploded just months before. The abrupt downturn brought an end to two venerable Wall Street firms, Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns, and it sent U.S. automakers General Motors (GM) and Chrysler into bankruptcy. Credit markets were frozen so solid that even creditworthy firms such as GE had difficulty borrowing. The government lent these firms trillions of dollars to keep them solvent.