By The Numbers

The Bush Administration is putting forth a defense of their record by pointing to numbers. Here are a couple of other numbers to consider.

1st:   The record for the most bankruptcies filed in a single year (1.57 Million) set in 2002, was reset again in 2003 with a projected 1.66 Million cases. Of these 98% were for individuals with 80% of these filing "no asset" claims; and the remaining 2% were for business bankruptcies with an average endebtedness of $1 Million each.

36%:   Increase in the number of desertions from the US Army since 1999

$1.5 Billion:   The average daily increase in the US National Debt during the period Jan 1, 2001 - Jan 1, 2004

100:   Number of fund-raisers attended by President Bush or Vice President Chaney during 2003

90%:   Percentage of American citizens who said they approved of the way George Bush was handling his job as president when asked on 26 September, 2001

53%:   Percentage of American citizens who approved of the way Bush was handling his job as president when asked on 16 January, 2004

130:   Number of countries (out of total of 191 recognized by the United Nations) with an American military presence

$100 billion: Estimated cost of the war in Iraq to American citizens by the end of 2003
$13 billion: Amount other countries have committed toward rebuilding Iraq (mostly in loans) as of Oct. 2003

88%: Percentage of American citizens who will save less than $100 on their 2006 federal taxes as a result of 2003 cut in capital gains and dividends taxes

$42,000: Average savings members of Bush's cabinet are expected to enjoy in 2003 as a result in the cuts in capital gains and dividends taxes

$42,228: Median household income in the US in 2001
$10.9 million: Average wealth of the members of Bush's original 16-person cabinet

87%: Percentage of the counties in the United States that do not have a single abortion provider

537:   In 2000, number of votes George W Bush needed to win the vote in Florida to overtake Democrat candidate Al Gore and claim the election.

166:   Number of days George W Bush has spent at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, from Jan 2001 to August 2003? It works out to 17.4% of his term has been spent at Crawford.

2.6 Million:  Number of "jobs lost" during the current Bush Administration

57%:   Percentage of Americans who believe that the Bush administration "exaggerated pre-war intelligence about Iraq's weapons in order to rally support for the war".

17: In 1996, the total number of judicial nominees confirmed by the Republican-led Senate
169: From Jan. 2001 to Aug. 2003 the total number of judicial nominees confirmed by the the Republican-led Senate
3: Number of years it has taken Pres. Bush to attain the same number of judicial appointments as Pres. Clinton did during either of his four year terms.


$29,000:   Sen. John Kerry's Individual Contributions as reported by Federal Election Commission
$0:   Pres. George W. Bush's Individual Contributions as reported by Federal Election Commission
$200 Million:   Pres. Bush's "War Chest" Goal for his re-election campaign, with $130 Million on hand as of Feb. 2004