Despite everything Obama and Democrats have done -- or, perhaps, because of everything they've done -- the bad economy appears to be getting worse. Today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 both hit two-month lows, and financial analysts are starting to speak bluntly about the grim prospects ahead:
"Investors are grasping the fact that the recovery, when it does come, may not be as robust as what many hope for."
-- Robert Siewert, portfolio manager at Glenmede"It's an overall reality check. People are starting to worry there may have been a disconnect between the market and reality. I kept thinking we were way due for a correction a month ago or more, and it wasn't coming."
-- Doreen Mogavero, president of Mogavero, Lee & Company"We are maybe past the very worst of it, but that doesn't mean we are ready to zoom up. I think the recovery is likely to be shallow and uneven."
-- Janna Sampson, co-chief investment officer of OakBrook Investments
Meanwhile, however, the firm of Obama, Pelosi & Reid is discussing the need for yet more "stimulus":
"I think it's insane, the first stimulus package has not even been spent yet," said Andre Weisbrod, president & chief executive of Staar Financial Advisors in Pittsburgh. "They are creating what I would call the government bubble . . . When that bursts we are in huge trouble."
Ideas have consequences, and the prevailing idea in Washington now -- that government is better than the free market in terms of generatiing economic growth -- is having consequences that are utterly predictable, and were predicted, seven months ago.