One More on That NYT S&P Index Graph

Mark Newhouse took the chart and reordered it into chronological order. Interesting result. The conclusion I draw looking at this version is not that the stock market performed poorly under Republican presidents in general, but rather just under Richard Nixon and George W. Bush. A thoughtful exercise in information design.

To make it even more accurate, I’d suggest widening the arrows to represent the length of each president’s term. Two-term presidents (not to mention Roosevelt, who was in office for over 12 years) should be weighted more heavily than one-termers (and Gerald Ford).

★ Thursday, 16 October 2008