Did the Obama stimulus make the economic crisis worse?

Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of The Black Swan, says that Obama weakened the economy of the United States by seeking to foster growth instead of paying down the federal debt which is the exact opposite of what should have been done. Thanks to Obama, total debt is higher than it was in 2008 and unemployment is worse. The U.S. government’s total outstanding debt is about $13.5 trillion and the unemployment rate is 9.6%.