One thing I find genuinely fascinating about American politics is how both parties select the economic metrics that flatter their own narrative – and quietly ignore the ones that don't.

Republicans love to talk about growth under Reagan. Democrats love to talk about the debt under Reagan. Both are correct.

During Reagan's presidency, the U.S. economy recovered strongly from the stagflation crisis of the 1970s. Real GDP grew by roughly 34% over his two terms, averaging around 3.5% annually. At the same time, the national debt nearly tripled.

During Obama's presidency, the national debt doubled from roughly $10 trillion to nearly $20 trillion, while cumulative real GDP growth was far weaker than Reagan's, coming in around 16%.

Both things are true. Both sides choose which one to mention.

This is a large part of why many people feel politically homeless.

Republicans campaign on fiscal responsibility and then preside over exploding deficits driven by tax cuts and spending. Democrats criticize exactly that behavior – and then do a version of the same thing while insisting they are the responsible adults in the room. Both sides have become very skilled at turning complicated economic reality into simple slogans.

But reality doesn't cooperate with slogans.

Growth matters. Debt matters. Productivity matters. Long-term incentives matter. And a serious political system should be able to discuss the trade-offs between them honestly – without forcing every data point into a pre-existing partisan story.

That kind of honesty is becoming increasingly rare. And that, more than any particular policy disagreement, is what I find most troubling about where American politics has ended up.