Beltway Gridlock Frees Up Wall Street - 11/10/09

Beltway Gridlock Frees Up Wall Street
11/10/2009 7:21 AM EST

The political stalemate has likely contributed to the sharp ramp in the capital markets since March.

One year ago, President Obama captured about 53% of the popular vote and won the presidency by nearly 10 million votes.

It is said that politicians campaign with poetry and govern with prose. In the process of making that transition from campaigning to governing, President Obama seems to have damaged his brand, and this has resulted in legislative gridlock.

Last Tuesday, that damage was seen in the Democratic Party's loss of the New Jersey governorship, in which a 15-point Obama plurality in that state in the November 2008 election was turned into a 4% to 5% Republican Party victory for the newly elected Governor Christie.

The ensuing gridlock, which followed a massive Democratic presidential victory 12 months ago, has likely been one of the contributing and underappreciated factors to the sharp ramp in the capital markets since March.