Obviously, Mr. President, Punishing Banks Is NOT The Way To Improve Lending Activity....

Nor will making bank reform (like health care reform) the center piece of the President's agenda remedy the employment situation.

Tonight's State of the Union address will be important to the U.S. stock market, and it will define whether the President will become more centrist in policy and more focused on the issue of jobs.

If Obama's message is that he is committed to a renewed focus on the under/unemployment issue, a spirited rally in equities should follow. However, if the President, having learned little from the Scott Brown win in Massachusetts, proves to be out of touch by continuing the tirade against the banking industry, we can retire our Graham and Dodd's Security Analysis in favor of Machiavelli's The Prince. In the later case, inept, stupid populism will have triumphed over and trumped the macro, and stocks will continue to be pressured.....