Which recession was worse, the double dip recession under Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan in the early 1980s or the current one under George W. Bush and Barack Obama?

Sarah Palin says it was worse under Reagan, and that he “showed us” the way out, presumably with tax cuts and a massive arms buildup.

Now politifact.com, the nonpartisan truth squad, compares the two recessions on all kind sof criteria, including unemployment, long term unemployment, income, and the value sof stocks. It’s conclusion? The Bush-Obama recession is worse, and Palin is wrong.

“It's no secret that Republicans love Ronald Reagan. So it's no surprise to see Sarah Palin, in her new book Going Rogue: An American Life, burnishing the reputation of the Gipper -- and taking a shot at the current president while she's at it,” politifact says.

“`Our nation is facing great challenges, but I'm optimistic -- and I know there is a way forward,’ she writes. `Ronald Reagan faced an even worse recession. He showed us how to get out of one.’’

The politifact report looked at several benchmarks, including:

--Length of recession: A wash;

--Economic growth: close;

--peak unemployment: worse under Reagan;

--rise in unemployment: worse under Obama;

--long term unemployment: much worse under Obama;

--personal income: worse under Obama;

--industrial production: worse under Obama;

--stock markets: worse under Obama;

--housing prices: much worse under Obama;

--foreclosures: much worse under Obama;

Bank failures: a wash so far.

Politfact did not include inflation, which was much worse under Reagan.

“A number of the conservative economists we spoke to believe that the high inflation of the early 1980s made Reagan's challenge worse.

“But we found significant disagreement with other economists about whether inflation is a good barometer of a recession. Some of them said it can be high in good economic times and low in poor economic times. So we're not rendering a verdict on it to compare the recessions.”

Still, the group said, inflation would not tip the balance.

“Even if we had decided to include inflation as a factor, the measurements would still indicate the current recession is worse. So we find Palin's claim to be False.”