Presidential Comparison

Nixon vs Obama

Last updated: August 23rd, 2024

This page has the comparisons between Nixon vs Obama across all the metrics we track. President Nixon and President Obama data are no longer in office. Their data has been set to be as equivalent by days in office to make a fair comparison of their performance. This accounts for presidents that had one term vs two terms, or presidents that had a much shortened term.

With respect to cumulative performance, Richard Nixon has performed better on 1 out of the 5 metrics we track.  President Nixon's highest performance difference was on the indicator Job Growth performing 4.59% better than President Obama. President Nixon's lowest performance difference was on NASDAQ Index performing -262.26% worse than President Obama.

We highly recommend you read this article as well prior: What's the best way to interpret the facts and data on Facts First?

Nixon vs. Obama stock market performance

How does Nixon compare to Obama in the stock market? We share the facts on cumulative and annualized performance between Nixon and Obama in the stock market. Cumulatively across the S&P 500, Nixon is at -20.05% compared to Obama at 166.28% a difference of -186.33%. On the NASDAQ, Nixon is at N/A compared to Obama at 262.26%  a difference of N/A. Finally, on the DOW Jones, Nixon is at -16.10% compared to Obama at 138.28% a difference of -154.38%.

Index
Cumulative Performance
Richard NixonBarack ObamaDifference
NASDAQN/A262.26%N/A
DOW-16.10%138.28%Nixon -154.38%
S&P-20.05%166.28%Nixon -186.33%
Index
Annualized Performance
Richard NixonBarack ObamaDifference
NASDAQN/A17.44%N/A
DOW-3.11%11.46%Nixon -14.57%
S&P-3.95%13.01%Nixon -16.96%




Nixon vs. Obama GDP performance

How does Nixon compare to Obama with respect to GDP Growth? We share the facts on cumulative and annualized GDP growth. Cumulatively Nixon is at 14.59% compared to Obama at 18.62% a difference of -4.03%

GDP
Richard NixonBarack ObamaDifference
Cumulative14.59%18.62%Nixon -4.03%
Annualized2.53%2.17%Nixon +0.36%


Nixon vs. Obama jobs growth performance

How does Nixon compare to Obama in non-farm payroll? We share the facts on cumulative and annualized jobs created. Cumulatively Nixon is at 13.22% compared to Obama at 8.63% a difference of 4.59%

Indicator
Cumulative Gain/Loss
Richard NixonBarack ObamaDifference
Cumulative13.22%8.63%Nixon +4.59%
Annualized2.27%1.05%Nixon +1.22%


How do we calculate data for Nixon vs. Obama?

We capture the data as soon as it’s available to us – stock market data after daily market close, jobs data once a month and GDP data once a quarter. After verifying the raw data, we then calculate updated cumulative and annualized performance data for the current president (the data for previous presidents have been calculated and verified in advance).

Some metrics are measured daily (like stock market performance), monthly (like jobs growth) and quarterly (like GDP growth). We start measurement of performance for a president from the first full time period after their inauguration. For stock market performance, it is the first stock market day in office. For jobs growth, it’s either first full calendar month in office (so if you are inaugurated in the middle of January, the first full month is February). This ensures a consistent starting point across all presidencies.

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