“Without a doubt, we are not as well off as we were before George Bush brought us the Bush job losses, the Bush recessions, the Bush deficits, the series of desert wars, charged for the first time to credit cards — the national credit card,” O’Malley continued.

“In terms of the question of whether people are better off today than they were four years ago, I just want to remind you what was happening four years ago at this time,” Obama deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter added. “In the quarter before the president took office, we lost three million jobs. Our country was bleeding. Our financial system was on the verge of collapse. We were passing bank bailouts to ensure that our system could stay afloat.That’s what was happening before the president took office.”