Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley answered the question Democrats have been avoiding for months — are Americans better off than they were for years ago — in the negative.
On Face the Nation, O'Malley replied to host Bob Schieffer: "No, but that's not the question of this election."
"Without a doubt, we are not as well off as we were before George Bush brought us the Bush job losses, the Bush recessions, the Bush deficits, the series of desert wars, charged for the first time to credit cards — the national credit card," O'Malley continued.
"In terms of the question of whether people are better off today than they were four years ago, I just want to remind you what was happening four years ago at this time," Obama deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter added. "In the quarter before the president took office, we lost three million jobs. Our country was bleeding. Our financial system was on the verge of collapse. We were passing bank bailouts to ensure that our system could stay afloat.That's what was happening before the president took office."
Most other Democrats spent the Sunday shows today the dodging the question, but as they turn to Charlotte for their convention this week, this question isn't going away.