Obama Will Lay Hands on the Economy and All Will Be Well

I have a serious problem with this statement.

“The story of this downturn starts in Washington, and Washington has to change,” he said.

Um.  No.  There were some policies in Washington that were a problem (weak dollar, spending, etc.), but the primary drivers of this economic slump were not because of anything Washington did or did not do.  The housing bubble, oil prices, normal economic cycle, etc. have far more to do with the economic situation than Washington policies. 

Because of that, it worries me that Obama seems to indicate that Washington is wholly responsible for the state of the economy.  It’s either an extremely naive viewpoint or indicative of a mindset that all things flow from government.  Then again, maybe it’s both.