A reader writes in, adding a point to yesterday’s discussion about Time’s cover story on “the Decade from Hell” and an overwrought picture of economic woe:

Under Bush, we had 51 straight months of economic growth – an achievement truly unprecedented in the nation’s history. In fact, in the summer of 2007, the stock market reached 14,000 and kept going. You said stocks were lousy over the decade.

True enough, although I would note that this depends entirely on when you begin measuring and when you stop. On January 7, 2000, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 11,522.56; it reached as high as 14,164.53 on October 9, 2007; but the tumbles of late last year and early this year took a severe toll. The Dow closed yesterday at 10,344.84. But yes, for much of the decade, stocks did pretty well.