ED DRISCOLL: The Leitmotif of the Obama Era: ‘Less Than Expected.’ “In 2004, the unemployment rate averaged out at 5.5 percent. In June of that election year, Obama, running for the US Senate that year (where he would would later stop in for a cup of coffee on the way to his now fateful presidential bid) attacked President Bush over his job record. As Drew at Ace of Spades’ blog writes, let’s compare how the two presidents stand up at identical points during their tenures in office.”

Related: Flashback: In 2004, Obama dismissed creation of 310,000 jobs under Bush.