Kind of a bit sick watching the Dow this morning

[Politics_Guy25]

Voters were rushing to the flashy shiny object of the two so-called "mavericks", one of whom made infamous the term "liptstick" before the economic crisis awakened them from their slumber to realize just how badly the GOP has wrecked the country and how Mccain would be nothing but a Bush repeat. I just worry though with the Dow up 600 points and if this holds, won't voter concerns about the economy ease? It'll make it easier for Rick Davis to make this the campaign that he has always dreamed of where issues don't count and personality is all that does if the economy stabilizes.

While the Dow was plunging massively each day, Senator Obama and the rest of our democratic team was immune from the typical GOP sleze. If the Dow rises 500 points each day for the next 3 weeks, the media will be able to cover whatever ploy Schmidt tries to play incessantly 24/7 to their heart's content.

I would have preferred the Dow to stabilize after the election/not before. Yeah, I admit it. I'm selfish. I want Senator Obama to win the presidency and I don't want a rising dow to perhaps destabilize that. So shoot me.

Am I just being stupid here and afraid of my own shadow? It's just that whenever the race isn't about important fundamental issues, that's bad for us. If the Dow stabilizes and we go back to talking about lipstick on a pig and Sarah Palin, that's not good. Hopefully voters don't forget the devastatiob that Bush wrought but I certainly fear that they may if this keeps up.

[hogwyld]

1. Ignore the Dow

People are still losing their jobs and homes, and people are still scrambling for credit.

[Raven]

2. It's going to take more than 3 weeks for the DOW to make up for

what I've lost and most people have lost. Most people are scared shitless and they want a plan to keep this from happening again (assuming it's over).

[Andy823]

21. You can say that again!

The markets will go up and down until things get stable, which could be months, or even years. It is "NOT" going to gain back all it has lost this year, and it will take a long time for americans to get back what they lost. Those who stayed in and weathered the storm will still not get back what they lost for years down the road, and those who got out and took a big loss in doing so, are not going to forget what happened, and who it was that put them in this mess to begin with.

No it's to late for McCain, he has ignored the real issue in favor of fear and smear, and the american people will not soon forget his slimy tactics in this race.

[peacebird]

3. It is expected that the markets will pop up today, however "stability" is a LONG way away.

The market will probably be up for a couple days, maybe a week - but I doubt it will "stick".

[sfam]

4. I'm selfish too. I would prefer my kids college fund & my 401 recover...Gimme a break!

I really wish we could give negative marks for a post. This one really deserves it. I put money in automatically each month to a fund for my children's college that someone far far away looks at - I truly don't know squadoosh about stocks (I do know that like 30% of the money I've put in over the last 15 years has vanished in the last month). But to wish that stocks continue to plunge, which would make housing values continue to go down and people to continue to lose jobs? Yeah, that is fairly selfish.

But then again, perhaps you're one of the lucky ones who's in a job that won't be affected by an economic collapse? Bully for you.

[Politics_Guy25]

10. An Obama presidential win is more important to me right now than

anything else in the world. Anything.

[sfam]

17. That truly is selfish, but also not in your personal interest...

Actually a world economic collapse would be worse than McCain getting elected. Best case estimates are that it would take more than a decade to recover. That's more than a potential 8 year Obama Presidency. Wishing and hoping that the stock market continues to lose massive value for another 3 weeks - if that occurs - would pretty much mean that the collapse is on.

Just to be clear, I absolutely love Obama and contribute monthly. Just as I don't want a terrorists attack on our soil for political purposes (a crazed freeper hope), I also don't want our country to collapse into economic obscurity just for Obama to win. How 'bout we win AND still have hopes for our kids to go to college, and for most of us to keep our jobs in the meantime?

[Mrs. Overall]

33. Yeah, right....

[FloridaGrl]

40. I hope people reading this post do not believe

the majority of Obama supporters feel this way. I am sickened every day the markets plunge and also when I read about the economic crisis worldwide. I'm truly happy to see positive movement in the stock market. Sometimes we need to put politics aside and thing about what's good for all of us. Obama can win even if the market recover because it is clear that the republicans have mismanaged this economy and we are losing our standing in the world. "We are the ones we have been waiting for". We can make this CHANGE happen. When Obama wins it will not be up to him alone, it will be up to all of us to make this work.

[liberalmuse]

5. I'm glad it is rebounding, however...

We are still in a crisis, and need the long-term solutions Obama is offering to stabilize the economy, help with the housing crisis, grow more jobs and to wean ourselves off of, and eventually end our dependence on foreign oil in the near future.

[Barack_America]

6. Our economy's still in terrible shape. Also, as the Dow rises, so too will fuel prices...

Unemployment will rise again this month, foreclosures are still at historic rates and nobody's 401K will regain beginning-of-the-year value.

In short, nothing has changed. The hemorrhaging may have stopped, but the bleeding continues. Nothing has been "fixed".

[azmouse]

7. No one will forget the financial pain of these last few weeks.

And no one wants to continue the policies that put this disaster in place.

[BootinUp]

8. No way it rises that fast. In fact it will probably

drop back a little after todays frenzy. I suspect there will be a little sell off at the end of todays session.

[Mira]

9. Volatility like this is terrible.....The markets don't like uncertainty

[AllentownJake]

11. The key is 401(k) statements

Most Americans are only invested in the market in their 401(k) The past 3 quarters of statements Americans have been getting have steadily gone down. Last week won't even be on there however if they compared their statement from October 2007 (period ending 9/30) to their statement from October 2008 they are going to see about a 30% decline more or less if their investments. If you included last week it would be a 40% decline. I want the market to go up but I'd be deathly worried if the market went up 20% in 3 weeks let alone 40%.

I do not want people to lose money in their retirement accounts but two ideas should be dead because of this 1) GOP is better for business and 2) any talk of retirement accounts for social security.

[TorchTheWitch]

12. Nobody will give a shit when their 401k's still look just as shitty

Get real. No one is going to be moved by the stock market having crept up a few hundred points when they still have lost 1/3 or more of their 401k money and other retirement investments, their homes aren't worth shit, they may get laid off or already have, they're still maxed out on creditcards just to buy groceries, etc. etc. etc.

They may feel a bit better about putting off until tomorrow running out to find a nice sturdy cardboard box to live in, but that's about it.

[MadrasT]

13. Just a bounce.

I see us hitting 7000 before too long.

[five_horizons]

29. I agree

I think this is a dead cat bounce.

[Speck Tater]

14. Wild fluctuations, up and down, is not "stablized".

The market is still behaving chaotically. Expect more crazy swings, some high, some low. That's one of the principle symptoms of a dynamical system about to go completely out of control. It's like a front wheel of a car at 90 MPH that starts wobbling wildly. Sure, sometimes it wobbles back into the position you want it to be in, but make no mistake; even when things look "good", briefly, temporarily, the wheel is still about to fly off the car.

[sfam]

18. Very thankfully, today it has been steadily rising...

Unlike the loony OP, I think this is a great thing. Obama will not be hurt by the market halting from jumping into a black hole for all time. Most of us have already lost boatloads. That we don't lose any more will not brighten our moods, or make us care about an incompetent bomber from the 60s.

[TornadoTN]

19. That's exactly right. This roller-coaster is not what the market needs

We need a stable, steady rise - dare I say, small rise that is sustained over a long period before anything can be said positively about the overall state of the market.

There are still some troubling financial issues that are out there right now that have yet to come to a full boil. Even the ones that we are trying to address are not certain to be fixed with the solutions that have been offered.

But today is a nice one time event. It's hard to judge anything by the events of today.

[CitizenPatriot]

15. well, I wish the dow going up 600 points meant we were in the clear

but it doesn't. Rest your worried heart; the economy is in Big Trouble and it won't get better for several years. It's a global problem.
this little bump is a reflection of confidence that something will be done about it.

The Dow is nowhere near where it was. confidence has not been restored and contrary to the "the fundamentals of the economy are strong" memes that have been reverberating off the GOPPER halls for years now, the fundamentals are in Big Trouble.

Trouble doesn't come knocking and say, Hey! I'm here!

It's only in retrospect that the majority come to admit what a few saw.

Another reason to study history.

Another reason to stand up against the hate mongering of the Palin.McKKKain rallies. We do not need another Nazi Germany along with the Great Depression II, both sponsored by the GOP.

[Higher Standard]

16. The Dow may rise, but jobs are gone

Those jobs aren't magically reappearing, so McCain still has the weight of dramatic job losses hanging from his neck.

[Marrah_G]

20. Absolutely un-fucking-believable

[Ichingcarpenter]

22. Plants are closing, chain stores are closing

You can't buy stock when you lose your jobs. Think about it.
How are these people gonna put money in their 401s without jobs?

[olegramps]

23. It needs over 4000 points, don't hold your breath.

[Egnever]

24. You must not have any investments you depend on

I want obama to win as much as anyone but I don't want million of peoples savings disappearing to achieve it.

[BlueIdaho]

25. If If If...

First - I'd be shocked if the DOW recovers before the election - and second - the real problem is the credit freeze by lending institutions. That will take months to straighten out. There is NO quick fix for our economic woes and even the rosiest picture shows a recession lasting for about a year. When people see their 401 K statements they will know just how screwed our economy really is. They will not be kind to the republicans that gave us this mess.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

43. But, but, but............

"The Democrats caused this mess!!!!!!!"
:sarcasm

*So, if things get better than who gets the credit for THAT? Who's in control of Congress right now and didn't most Democrats support the bailout? They can't blame us and NOT give us credit if things get batter now that we've had this so-called "bailout" passed, right?

**Personally, every day that the market gets better I feel better about things in general but no amount of "recovery" is going to absolve the Republicans for their economic policies that led to this crisis in the first place.

[BlueIdaho]

44. Welcome to Pottery Barn...

If you broke it - you bought it baby. The only question for the republicans is - do you want paper or plastic?

[Arkana]

26. The Dow has relatively little to do with people STILL losing their jobs

and being unable to resolve debt or hold on to their homes.

[high density]

27. The Dow is not the economy

That is true whether it is up 7% today or down 7%. It is a market built on speculation.

I don't think anybody is going to come out of today thinking, "Yup it's all better now!"

[nolabels]

46. As a predictor of how things look on long term it is has definite precursor

You can trace how things shake out financially on main street 3 months to a year from now by what happens on from Wall streets trends that are happening today. Not the day to day up and downs but the trends over the long term.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

28. I dont know a thing about economics but if youre hoping the Dow continues to tank for Obama's sake

it might be time for you to step back a little & take an extra breath or two.

[Erin Elizabeth]

Seconding this.

[terrya]

45. Thank you for saying that.

Ordinary, working class Americans own stock. It's outrageous to hope that the economy tanks just for political gain.

[Zynx]

30. The evidence is that the Dow has very little impact on how people vote.

The markets were quite strong in 2006. It never helped the Republicans.

[CJCRANE]

31. Stock markets are up worldwide due to European actions.

They've taken the leadership role lately.

[Mrs. Overall]

32. I don't believe your concern. You are up to something else with this post....

[CakeGrrl]

34. I think the bloom is off the Sarah Palin rose; they can't ramp that back up.

She's been outed as too much of a joke for the majority of Americans to take seriously any 'drama' the McCain camp tries to generate around her.

The market crash DID wake people out of that stupor, but now that they're awake, I doubt they'll be lulled back to sleep.

[VolcanoJen]

35. First of all, I don't think it's good form to root against the Dow.

Second, in terms of the political implications, the Dow might rally and rebound, and I hope it does because it will mean less pain to the people who can afford it the least down the road.

But the Dow rallying doesn't reopen closed manufacturing plants. It doesn't provide health insurance. It doesn't un-foreclose a home. It doesn't end a war.

[Erin Elizabeth]

36. Two things:

1. I believe Obama is going to win no matter what the Dow does from here until election day, which is only three weeks from tomorrow.

2. I'd really like the Dow to go up, since my husband and I watched our 401Ks lose thousands and thousands of dollars in the last two weeks.

[denverbill]

37. So you care about winning more than you care about the state of the world?

That's nuts. It's not different from a freeper hoping for a terrorist attack so that McCain wins or a Democrat hoping that Iraq degrades into a massive civil war to boost Obama. "Who cares how much misery is caused in the world as long as my candidate wins" pretty much sums up your argument.

I'm voting for Obama because I think he has the best chance to make the world a better place for all of us. But if for some reason he doesn't win, you won't find me praying for doom and gloom so a Democrat can win in 2012. I want the world to be a better place and if unregulated, crony capitalism and unilateralist, cowboy foreign policy somehow manages to get us there, then maybe McCain would succeed. But since I don't think his ideas will result in an improved economy or a safer world, I'm hoping Obama wins.

Personally, I'd take a miraculous economic recovery pre-election and a McCain win before I would take a total collapse of the world financial order and an Obama victory.

[Teaser]

38. Please, I want my 401k back

.

[nini]

39. I hate this kind of shit reasoning

The economy still collapsed and the way we handle it MUST change which still gives Obama the edge.

To say you wish it would wait to recover means possible 10s of thousands of lost jobs, failed companies, foreclosures etc.. WHY IN THE WORLD would this be good for this country?


:puke:

[kennetha]

41. I'm selfish too.

But I selfishly want my 120K in losses since just last quarter back in my Retirement accounts. I don't think people's getting a little of their money back or even a lot of their money back will hurt Obama at all. I don't think the dissatisfaction with the way things are is that shallow. It's a much deeper, more pervasive thing and even a massive run up in the market won't end it.

[TexasObserver]

42. today isn't even over yet, and the DOW is not about to take off dramatically

This is one day, and it's not over yet.

Expect some selling off by profit takers before the market closes in an hour and 45 minutes.