Stock Market Watch: Obama’s Bull Market?

Ken AshfordEconomy & Jobs & Deficit1 Comment

It was less than a month ago when conservative pundits were chomping at the bit to call the stock market downturn by the name "Obama's Bear Market"

WALLACE: Well, as we've been discussing, the stock market is officially in bear territory, down exactly 20% since the Obama inauguration. Brit, John McCain didn't want to answer the question, but I'll ask you. Is this the Obama bear market?

HUME: It's kind of a bear market within a bear market. The market was already down tremendously over the previous year, and I think most people entered this period of the new Obama administration thinking that it probably was bottoming out and that he would give by his very presence and by what he would offer real hope and that it would at least change the psychology a bit. It has changed the psychology, it seems, for the worse and I think he does bear responsibility for that, and the impression that he has managed to leave is that he's too busy with massive new spending and a scatter shot stimulus bill which was reckless and breathless new initiatives. On top of that you have this budget with all these breathtaking new initiatives to reorder our lives in a multitude of ways.

In the meantime, first order of business, the unfinished business of the previous administration. First order of business for the new administration, the financial crisis, the credit crisis. And, so far, no plan of any discernible shape of dealing with that. A couple of pieces in place as Governor Kaine pointed out. But that's what the market is looking for. It hasn't come. It's very hard. But, that's the big problem.

This meme was all over the place at the beginning of March.

What's happened since?

Marchmarket 

And today, the market is up over 8,000.

Not bad when you consider that the market opened at 7,949 on January 20, the day Obama took office.