Obama’s Progress Will Be Slow

President Obama’s race against the clock starts at noon today. He must move quickly and decisively to fix the nation’s economic problems. And he must do so before the millions of people watching him today begin to lose patience.

The fact that the S&P 500 (^GSPC) is down significantly this morning points to the magnitude of the problem. Washington moves slowly and is never afraid to waste money on inefficiencies and pet projects.

Disappointing earnings news from Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Logitech (LOGI) aren’t helping. Neither are the ongoing debacles with Citigroup (C) and Bank of America (BAC).

“Obamania” is at a peak and if it was possible to short it, now would be the time. Though President Obama will be able to harness some of today’s goodwill, the tasks in front of him are large. Even our country’s best presidents would find the current tasks daunting.

Not to mention that even the best possible plan will take what will seem like a very long time to have a positive impact.

The new president may prove to be more successful than any of us can imagine, and I hope that is the case. But he will make mistakes along the way. Furthermore, change takes time, especially when it comes to government. What no one knows is how many of today’s supporters will lose patience before progress occurs.

Rather than fixate on the White House, investors should stick to a strategy that has worked over time - seek out fundamentally sound companies with rising earnings estimates that are trading at attractive valuations.

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