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I think calling Obama the worst President in US history is a bit of a stretch since we aren't even a year into the presidency and the economy inherited along with the tough issues to tackle are the type that take time to work out. I'd certainly vote for his predecessor as being the worst President in US history, unfortunately, Obama has got to figure a way to handle the mess left behind...but that is the nature of the institution and the challenge he accepted when he ran for the office.

Having said my piece about where I disagree with the previous comment, I do agree that the economic policies of this administration have not been handled well and Obama does deserve criticism in this area. I think his participation in the bailouts (although it appears to be a collective, bi-partisan mistake) highlights the mistaken underlying strategy of this administration in assisting in the turnaround. However, I don't blame just the Federal government because I think the State-level governments have abdicated their responsibility in playing their part. Even down to the level of municipalities, it seems no one wants to tighten their belts and figure a way to put more money in people's pockets. The only way to eliminate fear and build consumer confidence is to provide people enough money in their pocket or bank account which is certainly the type of confidence that most folks are looking for today. That confidence leads to business expansion which inevitably leads to job creation. It's as simple as that and no turnaround is possible with double-digit unemployment.

The inevitable devaluing of the US dollar is what it seems this administration is trying to delay or prevent. Jobs are not here because the macroeconomic fundamentals are not favorable for us relative to global valuations. We still spend many of our dollars on cheap imports because the value of our dollar is relatively strong globally. The only way to stem this flow is to make this importation relatively more expensive which will give domestic producers an advantage (even if they have foreign-based ownership). I don't think the additional costs of benefits etc...is as important as this underlying factor. It's eventually going to happen because our debt isn't unsustainable yet but could be at some point if we continue to import and don't have the domestic income to support our preferences.

The Obama administration needs to address this fundamental reality before it is too late. If we expect business as usual over the next 20 years we can expect double-digit inflation and rampant systemic unemployment. Their current policies do nothing to address this and seem aimed to protect the interests of failing domestic industries while forgoing true development of new industries that our global competitors are doing. If we want to subsidize anything at this point, it should be in research & development of products where we have competitive advantage so we can revive this country to levels of prosperity that are slowly withering away with the "Greatest Generation" that seemed to have their priorities in order.