ven though this question risks replies from some college freshmen and sophomores who have one or two macroeconomics classes under their belts and therefore should be running the Treasury Department, I want to ask it.
A buddy of mine who has a degree in economics, but hasn't really used it for quite some time now in his current profession stated that the President really doesn't have all that much control over the economy.
Bush really isn't to blame for the downturn since it was third-party forces outside of his control. His biggest blunder with the economy was the appearance of his mishandling, but he's not really to blame.
Same with Obama. Obama can't snap his fingers and cure everything. His biggest blunder, too, is the appearance that he's not trying to fix it, and is instead focusing on other non-economic issues.
So, is this assessment accurate?