One thing: We're not on the verge of a recession. The right wing media needs to make things up to attack and that was one of them. I couldn't believe all that talk, nothing happened, nothing was about to happen, but they fear mongered for months.
It's true, but it's not a great talking point. Every time you say we're in a good spot, you're going to have voters who aren't in a good spot. So then you have to couch it in talk about doing more.
You're right in that it's worthy of bragging about; it's just a tricky subject.