Thread by @WestWingReport

Thread. White House @PressSec Sanders earlier cited this year's impressive rise in the Dow and said it shows that a businessman in the White House can make a difference. WWR posted some stats about this - which provoked some comments that are worth discussing /1

Here are the stats that WWR posted:
Dow Jones Industrial Avg.
First 11 months/Trump +25%
First 11 months/Obama : +29.9%

S&P 500
First 11 months/Trump: +18.4%
First 11 months Obama: +36.9%
/2

Some folks said it was unfair to post percentages because the Dow was so much lower when Obama took over and much higher when Trump did. Aside from this being an acknowledgment that the market soared between 2009-17, percentages actually ARE the way to compare. Here's why: /3

The Dow has gained 5,000 points this year, That's an impressive 25%. Terrific! But when it rose from, say, 10,000 to 15,000, that was also 5,000 points - but the gain was 50% Twice as good /4

The Dow could hit 25,000 tomorrow. That's a whopping 1,000 points from 24,000! But a 4.1% gain. And to go from 25,000 to 26,000, another 1,000 point jump. But a 4.0% gain. Returns get smaller /5

That's why it's relative returns, not points, that count. Thus in relative returns, the Dow's gain this year, while impressive, is still just the 7th best in a quarter century /6

Meantime, the S&P 500 - the standard market benchmark (not the Dow) is also up impressively this year - but it's only the 10th biggest gain in the past quarter-century /7

So when @Presssec Sanders talks about how great the market has been this year (and it has been), it's important to add some context. Sanders doesn't do this and perhaps is counting on you to either not know any better or simply accept what she says at face value

Thanks
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This recent column by WWR's Paul Brandus for @DowJones / @MarketWatch adds further context marketwatch.com/story/its-neit…

Addendum: whether it's good to have a businessman in the White House is also debatable. Two centuries+ of American history has thus far suggested otherwise

American history suggests that ultimate Presidential greatness is based on many things. Being a businessman (and frequently a failed one at that) is just one variable. (Here: a slide from a speech WWR has been giving around the country the last few weeks)