Posted: 2:09 PM EST March 10, 2009 Posted by: u240018 This entire argument is idiotic. I tire of the countless data comparisons to past events. Especially when the data is selectively plucked to fit the author's pre-determined argument. So... just because the chart in 1930-something did this on a particular day, the chart is going to repeat itself 75 years later? I'm sure if I tried I could find past data similar to today's trends that show that the stock market is going to rally 50% in the next three years. The comparisons are meaningless. It's a different government, a different economy, and an entirely different century. Authors seem to dredge this junk up because it is easier then having to think for themselves. As far as the comments about Obama... "We can't blame President Obama for the mess he inherited. But we can definitely blame him for making it worse. Stocks are off 28.4% since his election, 15.2% since his inauguration, and 17.2% since his so-called 'stimulus' bill was enacted. To say the very least, whate...(Read more of this comment)ver he's doing, it ain't working. This again is ridiculous, as is the notion that Obama simply doesn't care. The stimulus bill and all efforts at fixing fundamental problems with the economy are not like a shot of steroids that will immediatly turn things around. It will take time. The economy has been in recession for over a year, and because it hasn't turned around in the first two months of Obama's administration, he's failing? Please... enough of the fear mongering and b.s. statistics and chart analysis. (Show less of this comment) Posted: 6:17 PM EST March 09, 2009 ejhickey 4 Comments To wokthedog : Are you saying that it would be a good thing if things got a lot worse than they are now because that would motivate people to "change"? Do you actually think that the decline in the stock market is a good thing? That is just wrong and contrary to what Obama has promised about things getting better. You also state that when FDR came in the market had nowhere else to go but up. Not true . the Dow had been lower. there was every reason for the Dow to stay in the same range it had been in for about a year . Instead the Dow went higher right after the inauguration and kept going up the rest of the year. The argument that the market has to go up because it can't go any lower is has been used time and time again to justify buying stocks . It was even used by Obama to justify if his half hearted Buy Stock recommendation last week before the market tanked again. this argument is only valid if the market is at Zero. However maybe that is the ...(Read more of this comment)point of the Obama's ignoring what is happening to the markets. Maybe he really wants the markets to be destroyed but is just not honest enough to say it. No historical comparison is 100% accurate because no set of circumstances is exactly the same . One cannot step in the same river twice. Still historical comparisons are useful in evaluating how a President is doing. Every President gets compared to the previous ones and Obama is no exception. At some point Obama will have to be judged on the the effect he is having on the economy and the market. Why not now? The "give him some more time" argument is what Bush supporters kept saying about the Iraq war and too many people suspended their judgment. & weeks is not too soon. I say that at this point compared to FDR , Obama is doing a bad job. that is if he even cares about the markets and the economy. Read more: Even Worse Than the Great Depression - Investing - Economy - SmartMoney.com http://www.smartmoney.com/Investing/Economy/Even-Worse-Than-the-Great-Depression/#ixzz0mGDRaE00