Then why doesn't this trickle down to Obama as well? How come he doesn't get more credit for his turnaround? Three of the states which were hardest hit by the financial meltdown, Nevada, Florida and Michigan, are now three of the states with the most impressive economic turnaround. Hardly coincidential, is it?
The reason why he doesn't get more credit for the recovery is because it's been weak; people aren't feeling the recovery personally. Yes, unemployment has dropped and 9.7 million jobs have been created since February 2010, but many of these jobs have been low-paying and lack benefits, with a smaller share being higher-paying (hence the debate about college education and economic polarization).
Many of the jobs lost during the recession were middle-paying jobs; for example, 2.3 million manufacturing jobs were lost, and only 600,000 or so have been recovered. The middle class has shrunk dramatically since 2000. Older workers are hit hardest, having outdated skills and not finding work easily again. They despair, and their families and friends also despair and that affects their perception of the economy even if they are doing fine themselves.
Many people feel the federal government and Federal Reserve are more interested in re-inflating asset bubbles than actual stimulus spending (Fun Fact: of the $787 billion stimulus, $425 billion was a tax cut and only $362 billion was spending. Meanwhile, the Fed and the government have pumped something like $5.5 trillion into the global financial system via bailouts, spending, and 0.25% interest rates). People understand to a degree that the 2008 recession was not a regular recession, but they also believe Obama has focused too much on legacy building initiatives (healthcare, immigration reform) than on restoring the economy.
2% annual GDP growth, about 2-2.3 million jobs created annually, and a
4.1 percentage point drop in unemployment are very good by themselves, but in the context of the hole that was dug from 2007-2009 it simply isn't enough for people to feel good enough about the economy to rate Obama positively.
