Obama's Be-Like-Nixon Report Card

A stock authority on how well 44 is doing channeling 37:

Yesterday, Gary Weiss blogged that President Obama needs to "channel Richard Nixon" and make a strong statement about his confidence in the long-term future of the U.S. stock market.

In 1970, President Nixon proclaimed: "Frankly, if I had any money, I'd be buying stocks right now," in the middle of a recession. The market jumped on the expression of confidence. A few hours after Gary Weiss wrote that Obama should do the same thing, Obama said -- in his usual mild-mannered, carefully hedged way -- that stocks represent a "potentially good deal" for long-term investors. OK: not exactly the rah-rah cheerleading we were hoping for, but it's a start.