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"The stock market is sort of like a tracking poll in politics. It bobs
up and down day to day, and if you spend all your time worrying about
that, then you're probably going to get the long-term strategy wrong,"
Obama recently explained.

You know, Mr. President, not everything is like politics.

The market is a forward-looking entity, indeed, but it is driven by
the decentralized actions of millions of investors every second. It's
the opposite of politics. And this setup surely offends the
sensibilities of the statist planners occupying Washington. Unlike
politicians, markets don't lie. And this market has been in freefall
for a year.

So, what to do? Obama, who promised not to raise taxes during a
recession, now plans to raise nearly $1 trillion in new taxes directly
from the investor class. He plans to raise capital gains taxes (a
disincentive to investment), corporate taxes (for you, the consumer,
ultimately to pay) and on the "rich" (which the nonpartisan Tax
Foundation estimates will affect 1.3 million small-business owners).

This recession already has passed the 15-month threshold, the
historical average for downturns. Most presidents helped ease us out
of those tough spots by easing the burden on Americans. Obama has
engaged in the opposite. That's his gamble.

And most polls show the president's approval rating at about 60
percent, which is similar to other modern presidents' ratings at this
point in their presidencies. But now that Obama has used his political
capital to further ideology rather than economic growth, one thing is
clear: He owns this mess.

http://www.reason.com/news/show/132178.html