[Notforprophet]

All good comments, except I must respectfully disagree on one front: The President DOES have an effect on the overall economy. If it doesn't get significantly better by election time, look for the Dems to use that as their biggest platform. No matter how much you try to disregard the significance, it will be a chain around the neck of W unless he leads the turnaround, which he obviously can do.

While the economic policies of any Administration can and do affect the market and economy, most policies don't show results immediately. For instance, the tax-cuts and 'trickle-down' economics of the Reagan administration didn't bear fruit until four years after the Gipper left office - it can be argued that the boom of the 1990's was a direct result of the fiscal and economic policies of the 1980's.

BTW - Welcome to FR. :)