Obama unleashes big tweetstorm to show how much better the country is since he became president

Lehman Brothers, the giant investment bank, collapsed after the housing market crash came to a head.

A sharp plunge in the stock market followed.

The US economy's collapse came right in the middle of the 2008 presidential election and Barack Obama was elected less than two months later with an imperative to turn things around.

Seven years later, he's arguing that he did.

As Congress squabbles over how to keep the government funded ahead of a Sept. 30 deadline, Obama on Tuesday offered a vehement defense of his economic record. Obama argued against what he has referred to as "self-inflicted wounds" ahead of key deadlines to keep the government from shutting down, keep funding transportation and construction projects, and raise the nation's debt ceiling.

Here's a look at how Obama defended his record in a tweetstorm.