After the harsh winter weather that helped bring U.S. economic growth to a standstill, the strong May jobs report came as very good news. The U.S. added 280,000 new jobs and saw signs that wage growth is picking up steam. Even the uptick in the unemployment rate to 5.5 percent represents a positive development, as more job seekers are reentering the workforce.

But those happy developments for the American people are a problem for the Republican Party and its 2016 presidential candidates. After the GOP's comical failure in 2012 to pretend "Obama made the economy worse," House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) could only complain, "After so many years of little growth, few jobs, and stagnant wages, America must do more than just take one step forward for every two steps back." But it is would-be White House occupant Jeb Bush who has the biggest challenge of all. Obama, it turns out, has now created six times as many jobs as Jeb's brother George W. did in eight years in office.

Back on January 9, 2009, the reliably Republican Wall Street Journal published a helpful analysis titled, "Bush on Jobs: The Worst Track Record on Record." Last week, Bill McBride of Calculated Risk provided an updated analysis to show just how dismal. Some of the highlights:

During Dubya's two terms in office, the U.S. economy created just 1.3 million new jobs. So far, six times more—7.7 million jobs—have been added 28 months into President Obama's second term.

The private sector actually lost 463,000 jobs under George W. Bush. In contrast, Obama has presided over 63 straight months of private sector job creation, 8.3 million in all.

Under small government Republican George W. Bush, the public sector at all levels grew by 1.7 million workers. In contrast, federal, state and local governments have shed 638,000 jobs since Barack Obama first took the oath of office.

Let that settle in for a moment, then continue reading below.