January 23, 2012 - Obama has done more to help our economy that most every prior Repuplican president.
Take a look:60 percent: Increase in the Dow Jones Industrial average during the first three years of President Barack Obama's term, up 4,771 points to Friday's close of 12,720 as his fourth year begins.
-24 percent: Decline in the Dow during President George W. Bush's second term from 2005 to 2009, dropping 2,522 points to 7,949.
-1 percent: Decline in the Dow during President Bush's first term from 2001 to 2005, dropping 116 points to 10,471.
55 percent: Increase in the Dow during President Bill Clinton's second term from 1997 to 2001, increasing 3,744 points to 10,588.
111 percent: Increase in the Dow during President Clinton's first term from 1993 to 1997, increasing 3,602 points to 6,844.
45 percent: Increase in the Dow during President G.W. Bush's term from 1989 to 1993, increasing 1,007 points to 3,242.
Sources: Plain Dealer archives and Google Finance
Opening and closing dates are Jan. 20 each year, unless Jan. 20 fell on a weekend. In those cases, the date from the previous weekday was used. The closing price of Aug. 9, 1974, was used for Presidents Ford and Nixon as that was the day Ford was sworn after Nixon's resignation