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For a change, instead of posting an article written by someone trying to push one view, I thought I would do the research myself and find the actual numbers and statistics comparing 2012 to 2008.  Are we really better off today than we were in 2008 before Obama took office?  Feel free to post more statistics, but don't post actual numbers without reputable sources to back them up, please.  Cheers!

2008 Unemployment

Unemployment
(Household Survey Data)

The unemployment rate (6.1 percent) was unchanged in
September, following a 0.4 percentage point rise in August.The number of unemployed persons was little
changed at 9.5 million.Over the past 12
months, the number of unemployed persons has increased by 2.2 million and the
unemployment rate has risen by 1.4 percentage points. (See table A-1.)

The unemployment rates for adult men (6.1 percent) and blacks
(11.4 percent) rose in September.The
jobless rates for teenagers (19.1 percent), whites (5.4 percent), and Hispanics
(7.8 percent) were essentially unchanged.
The unemployment rate for adult women declinedto 4.9 percent, partly offsetting an increase
in August.The unemployment rate for
Asians in September was 3.8 percent, not seasonally adjusted.(See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)

In September, the number of long-term unemployed (those
jobless for 27 weeks or more) rose by 167,000 to 2.0 million, an increase of
728,000 over the past 12 months.The
long-term unemployed accounted for 21.1 percent of total unemployment in
September.(See table A-9.)

Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

The civilian labor force (154.7 million) and the labor force
participation rate (66.0 percent) were essentially unchanged over the
month.Total employment (145.3 million)
and the employment-population ratio (62.0 percent) were little changed.Since a recent high in December 2006, the
employment-population ratio has declined by 1.4 percentage points.(See table A-1.)

Employment-population ratio => 62.0%

Read more data here: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/famee_05272009.htm

http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS12300000

2012 Unemployment

Household Survey Data

The unemployment rate edged down in August to 8.1 percent.
Since the beginning of this year, the rate has held in a narrow range of 8.1 to
8.3 percent. The number of unemployed persons, at 12.5 million, was little
changed in August. (See table A-1.)

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for
adult men (7.6 percent), adult women (7.3 percent), teenagers (24.6 percent),
whites (7.2 percent), blacks (14.1 percent), and Hispanics (10.2 percent)
showed little or no change in August.The
jobless rate for Asians was 5.9 percent (not seasonally adjusted), little changed
from a year earlier. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)

In August, the number of long-term unemployed (those jobless
for 27 weeks or more) was little changed at 5.0 million. These individuals
accounted for 40.0 percent of the unemployed. (See table A-12.)

Both the civilian labor force (154.6 million) and the labor
force participation rate (63.5 percent) declined in August. The employment population
ratio, at 58.3 percent, was little changed. (See table A-1.)

Employment-population ratio => 58.3%

Read more data here:http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.toc.htm

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/famee.nr0.htm

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf

2008 Labor Force
Dropouts

Not in Labor Force => 79,985,000

Discouraged Workers => 467,000

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/empsit_10032008.pdf

http://www.bls.gov/opub/ils/pdf/opbils74.pdf

2012 Labor Force
Dropouts

Not in Labor Force =>88,921,000

Discouraged Workers => 844,000

http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2012/09/11/most-labor-force-drop-outs-in-august-had-jobs/

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.a.htm

2008 Total Number of Foreclosures
=>3,157,806

http://www.realtytrac.com/content/press-releases/foreclosure-activity-increases-81-percent-in-2008-4551

2012 Total Number of
Foreclosures => 5,569,000

http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2012/07/lps-mortgages-in-foreclosure-still-near.html

2008 National Debt

$9,645,725,555,640.02

http://www.scribd.com/doc/5467519/US-National-Debt-19292008

http://www.skymachines.com/US-National-Debt-Per-Capita-Percent-of-GDP-and-by-Presidental-Term.htm

2012 National Debt

$16,048,018,310,212.93

http://www.justfacts.com/nationaldebt.asp#quantifying

http://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/BPDLogin?application=np

2008 Number of Americans on Food
Stamps => 27.8 million

http://theweek.com/article/index/224955/americans-growing-dependency-on-food-stamps

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/31/us/31foodstamps.html?_r=0

2012 Number of Americans on Food
Stamps => 46.7 million

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303644004577521243333987190.html

http://www.trivisonno.com/food-stamps-charts

2008 Student Debt

“When one includes PLUS loans in the total, 66.0% of 4-year
undergraduate students graduated with some debt in 2007-08, and the average
cumulative debt incurred was $27,803. (About two in fifteen (13.5%) of parents
borrow PLUS loans for their children's college education, with a cumulative
PLUS loan debt of $23,298.)”

http://www.finaid.org/loans/

2012 Student Debt

“As of Quarter 1 in 2012, the average student loan balance for
all age groups is $24,301.  About one-quarter of borrowers owe more than
$28,000; 10% of borrowers owe more than $54,000; 3% owe more than $100,000; and
less than 1%, or 167,000 people, owe more than $200,000. (Source: FRBNY)”

http://www.asa.org/policy/resources/stats/default.aspx

2008 Net Business
Birth/Death Adjustment => 904,000

http://www.bls.gov/web/empsit/cesbdhst.htm

2012 Net Business
Birth/Death Adjustment => 487,000

http://www.bls.gov/web/empsit/cesbd.htm

2008 Number of Americans
on Welfare => 4,251,131 or 1.4%

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/01/25/us/20090126-welfare-table.html

2012 Number of Americans
on Welfare => about 15,000,000 or 4.1%

http://www.statisticbrain.com/welfare-statistics/

Edit:

2008 Percentage of Americans with College Degrees => 37.9%

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-03-26/college-degrees-adults/53793160/1

2012 Percentage of Americans with College Degrees => 39.3%

http://news.yahoo.com/small-rise-college-completion-young-adults-040255215.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

2008 Gas Prices: 

July 7, 2008—Crude oil prices settled-in at a new
record of $147 per barrel. The U.S. average price for regular gasoline
climbs to an all-time high of $4.11 per gallon. Road trip style
vacations are put on hold for many summer travelers.

Aug. 5, 2008—Oil prices fall below $120 a barrel. Treehuggers search for the good within the escalating gas prices.

Sept. 15, 2008—The
barrel continues to drop below $100 a barrel for the first time in six
months. The idea of a serious financial industry recession is discussed
as the market literally begins to melt down!

Oct. 16, 2008—Oil
prices fall below $70 a barrel, which is less than half of its July
peak. Signs of $1.99 a gallon gas brings celebration to the masses. Some
consumers begin to talk about dragging out their gas guzzling SUV's and
Winnebago's for the first time in months.

Nov. 3, 2008—U.S.
Gas prices drop to $1.72 a gallon. Some gas stations even roll out a
$.99 cent promotional deal. Treehuggers question whether the sudden drop is as good as most consumers seem to think it is.

Source:  http://www.treehugger.com/corporate-responsibility/2008-us-gas-price-year-in-review.html

2012 Gas Prices:

Source:  http://gasbuddy.com/gb_retail_price_chart.aspx