On Tuesday, both Al Gore's and George W. Bush's camps brought the financial markets into their respective arguments. The Republicans said all this uncertainty in the presidential election is not good for the U.S. and international markets. The Democrats quickly replied and said that was not the case. Daley's statement is partly right. Last week the markets were reacting primarily to weak corporate earnings and a slowing economy.
Most analysts say it was a factor in stocks' big sell-off last week.
While the Gore campaign downplayed the market's reaction to election uncertainty, the Bush campaign played it up. Baker, too, is only partly right. Analysts say that while the indecision is not good for American credibility, it has not been very damaging either. International markets are more focused on the American economy than the American election, and as long as Alan Greenspan is in charge of the Federal Reserve, the prevailing view is that economy is in good hands. Stocks have rallied today and Tuesday, which suggests to some analysts that Wall Street is learning to live with the political uncertainty.