Its hard to isolate how much given the complexity of the markets, but the prospect of more punitive taxation rates from a Democrat Congress without a GOP White House to restrain them is definitely hindering investment. Hillary is probably viewed as more Wall Street friendly than Obama given the past history of the Clinton association with the saner wing of the Democrat party, Robert Rubin etc. (I'd argue that Hillary is more dangerous than Wall Street believes, but that's a different topic ). Obama scares Wall Street because of his wild and inconsistent statements about economics, his lack of any reliable long term association with any sane economics advisors, and his evident lack of knowledge of economics.

Wall Street would be more confident should McCain appear to have a high probability of election. McCain is really not much better in economics and tax policies than Hillary if you look at his actual past record. But he's more likely to obtain and consider serious advice.

Hooverville! And leave Ann alone!

ODE TO OBAMA (Second Ed.)
by Publius II

There once was a man named Obama
His life began with drama
An African Muslim father
An Atheist white mama

Obama's white grandparents
They gave him a charmed life
Raised on the beaches of Hawaii
Far from ghetto strife

He went to private schools
Fourteen thousand dollars a year
Working-class white folks
They were nowhere near

He attended Columbia
Then Harvard Law
A very soft and liberal upbringing
Something Americans eventually saw

He then went to Chicago
Nation of Islam, Farrakhan, Black Panthers and Jackson
The only friends he made
All from the extreme left-wing faction

He joined a radical church
His Pastor downright insane
Blacks and whites, he said
Think with different parts of their brain

His church praised a man named Cone
With hateful opinions he was filled
He said white people were "the devil"
And Gods who love whites must be killed

Obama first ran for State Senate
With permission from Chicago's Marxist King
A domestic terrorist named Ayers
Obama kissed his ring

He wrote a book called "Dreams From My Father"
From start to finish a racist rant
After people finally read it
They said: "Obama, no we can't"

He wrote how he rejected his mother's race
And that Malcolm X was a hero
People had a clear warning
Obama was a dangerous zero

He was then elected to the U.S. Senate
Obama's ego grew very bold
He barely served a year
I will run for President was the story he told

He spent millions to stage rallies
The crowds would yell and cheer
But then it all fizzled out
Typical white folks, he said, cling to religion, guns and beer

His wife said America was mean
She was never really proud
Her Black Separatist thesis at Princeton
Became a campaign cloud

People said he was a Muslim
His supporters scoffed and jeered
Then his Black Liberation Church was exposed
And Obama's ugly head was reared

He opened a Texas Office
A banner of Che Gueverra proudly on display
Paying tribute to a Marxist executioner
Americans gasped with dismay

He tried to recover in a speech on race
The left-wing media offered raves
But he said white folks had an "untrained ear"
And abolitionists in Pennsylvania rolled over in their graves

He claimed to be a uniter
He would bring people together all at once
But after his speech in Philadelphia
He proved to be a demographic dunce

He tried once more to persuade whites
But his bowling was a mess
He rolled a 37
Like a 5-year-old girl in a dress

He then played basketball
He drove the ball to the rack
But when all was said and done
He nearly had a heart attack

He said damn those white voters
Their Mutual Funds I will tax
I'll double the capital gains rate
Like an old-school Liberal hack

He opposed a gas tax holiday
He said it wasn't a winner
$40 wasn't much he said
Just the weekly budget for the average family's dinner

He wouldn't cover his heart
As the National Anthem played
It's a meaningless gesture he said
But Americans felt betrayed

He wouldn't wear a flag pin
It was against his One World view
It doesn't matter he said
And the American people stewed

He first called terrorist Ayers his friend
Then said this man he didn't really know
More deceit and cover-ups
Obama's lies began to grow

Farrakhan, Jackson and Sharpton
Three of Obama's greatest fans
He tried hiding them in the closet
So not to further offend the white man

Then came his anti-American Pastor
Obama's mentor for 20 years
He preened, shucked and jived
White people rose up and sneered

NBC and the New York Times
They tried each day to save Obama's campaign
But real Americans said "FU"
And Obama spiraled down the drain

His name was Barrack Hussein Obama
Running for a second Jimmy Carter term
Weak on National Security
A little, pacifist worm

The radical left-wing Democrats
A Presidential race lost once again
Is it really a surprise
They've lost 7 of the last 10?

Excellent, JJ. Now to confirm your Obama theory, I think we should have DJ Drummond's argumentative bloglodyte and self-proclaimed economist, JSchuler, run a regression analysis to confirm.

Publius, you can stop spamming blogs with that now.

Not just the market is being affected by fears of an Obama victory, but the ecomony in general, I think.

That's harder to support, Bunyan, although I've talked to some firearms manufacturers who have noticed an increase in sales that they attribute to fears of Democrat control post-election resulting in additional gun control legislation

Are you sure, SPQR, that they aren't bitter and turning to guns and religion? ;)

COgirl, they were turning to religion too, I heard the prayer: "Oh, God, I hope my wife does not hear about this purchase ..."

LOL!