give Obama a pass, after the man himself blamed the entire economic mess on his predecessor. Barack Obama does not need "a pass." Obama has already created more jobs in the past 3 years than George Bush did in 8. But I agree with you that Dubner's proposal that a president has no effect on the economy is preposterous. So the rational interpretation is that he is attempting to withold credit from Obama for the clearly expanding economy and to give Bush a pass for the economic destruction of the previous 8 years. Or maybe Dubner has no agenda and is just unschooled in this matter? Thanks to Mr. Dubner for addressing the "President as CEO" fallacy. As noted in the segment, almost every Mitt Romney stump speech includes a reference to his success as a private sector CEO, to justify his fitness for the Presidency. As a private sector CEO, Mr. Romney's decisions were final. His employees either fell in line or found new work. The President has no such control over the elected members of the House and Senate, whose majority approval is required, to enact any public policy. Therefore, the most effective President is one who possesses the political skills to pursuade the House and Senate that his/her policies are worthy of enactment. Although "politician" often is used as a pejorative term, it is more important for a President to be an effective politician than an effective CEO. Pardon my saying, but consumer saving and spending habits