If anybody but Barack Obama were President of the United States, I would say that the S&P downgrade this week, and the huge market drops in the past two weeks, were both over-reactions to admittedly bad economic data. After all, lawmakers did show a willingness to address the debt problem, did show some bipartisan seriousness about finding savings, and do still represent the most stable nation, with the most wealth, in the world.

But this is a willfully obstinate president, ideologically committed to intrusive regulations, higher taxes, and bigger government no matter how much evidence shows that his policies don't work. When he continues with the same stale talking points, the same arrogant disdain for all who disagree with him, and the same dyspeptic disposition, markets have no reason for confidence - and neither do consumers, ratings agencies, or foreign bondholders. They know that this man is cold, hyper-egotistical (if not worse), and supremely immune to even the slightest bit of self-doubt. They know this is a man who has no experience in the real world of the private sector, boundless hostility to the profit motive, and no understanding of what makes economies grow. They therefore have no reason to expect the sorts of openness to change that they want to see from the Obama administration.