First Things First, Please

Memo to President Obama: First Things First, Please
Townhall - Monday, March 09, 2009 - by Carol Platt Liebau

Welcome to the Barack Obama bear market. On Inauguration Day, the official beginning of the era of “hope” and “change,” the Dow stood at 8,281. On Friday, it closed at 6,626 – the fastest drop for any president in more than 90 years. Given his track record so far on economics, no wonder Obama wants to talk about health care instead.
But before Americans decide to trust the President to “reform” the greatest and most innovative health care system in the world, they might want to take a look at the Administration’s approach to addressing the nation’s most pressing crisis. What policies have Obama and his team presented to reassure the markets and offer the promise of stabilization and renewed growth?
The short answer: None. Rather, the Obama team has inadvertently (one hopes) followed a course that has succeeded only in depressing the market by spooking Wall Street and heightening the climate of fear. Industry by industry, the Administration has sown the seeds of uncertainty through its policy pronouncements and trial balloons over the past month. (continues)