'Mission Accomplished,' Four Years Later

May 1, 2007 — -- The moment is etched in America's collective memory: On May 1, 2003, the president landed on an aircraft carrier, in full flight gear with a "Mission Accomplished" sign flapping in the wind and announced the end of "major combat operations in Iraq."

It is easy to look back with the benefit of hindsight and critique President Bush's announcement. But we'll leave that to the pundits. Here, we take a look at the reality of how far we have come in Iraq -- or haven't -- in cold, hard numbers.

In May 2003 Bush had reason to be jubilant. Saddam Hussein had been ousted. Coalition forces were facing little opposition. The American public was largely supportive of the war, and of the president -- 71 percent approved of Bush's overall job performance, according to an ABC/Washington Post poll released May 1, 2003.

Today the numbers tell a different story. Bush's approval rating stands at 35 percent, according to the latest ABC/Washington Post poll from April 15, 2007, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. Here, a side-by-side comparison of key economic and military figures.

"Mission Accomplished" or "Mission Continued"? You decide:

ECONOMY

2003: $14

2006: $49 (projected)

2003: 47 percent

2007: 4 percent

2003: 37 percent

2007: 33 percent

2003: 8,000

2007: more than 34,000

2003: 2.5 (estimated)

2007: 2.08

2003: 1.7-2.5 (estimated)

2007: 1.5

2003: 3800

2007: 3500

2003: 78 percent

2007: 54 percent

2003: 0.9

2007: 10.1

2003: 4,500 (estimated)

2006: 197,310

2003: 0

2006: 268