At what point into a presidential term does it become their actual mess? And is there evidence of a time delay? Because by that argument, the mess we are in would been caused by Democrats.
This particular crisis is quite abrupt, caused by a sharp jump in the price of oil. Most presidents don't really deserve either the credit or fault that they receive on the economy, but in this case there's a very clear and direct connection.
Yes, it happens to both sides. People convince themselves their side always makes right decisions, the other side always wrong.
The truth is that the secret sauce is in the pendulum going back and forth. The excesses of one side are soon erased by the other. It is working, as it has for many years.