The Best Way to Objectively Measure Just How Bad This President Is

Epiphany: please consider the following historical chart for the price of gold. The red line represents the price in 2010 inflation-adjusted U.S. dollars while the black line reflects the nominal price in dollars.

I've highlighted the two worst spikes in gold prices which correspond -- shockingly -- to the erratic presidencies of James Earl Carter and Barack Milhaus Obama.

It would appear that the price of gold is an excellent proxy for the level of horror the world feels when the American president is incompetent and/or an ideologue.

The Carter era was riddled with crises: Russia rolled into Afghanistan unopposed; the Sheiks touched off an oil crisis; the Iranian clerics deposed the Shah and launched the hostage fiasco; etc. The uncertainty caused a massive spike in gold prices as investors around the globe sought a safe haven to hedge against disaster.

Similarly, the Obama administration has displayed a complete disregard for the Iranian nuclear menace, exhibited indecision in Afghanistan; has devalued the U.S. dollar with debt monetization and unsustainable deficit spending; has created new entitlement programs when the old ones are heading for disaster; and callously disregarded the will of an angry American electorate.

Put simply: when gold spikes, you know the American President is sowing investor uncertainty, whether through incompetence, ideology or malice. That people are scurrying to gold tells you that this President is a walking, talking catastrophe.


Postscript: It's worth noting that the left also played a significant role in undermining the Vietnam War effort and, ultimately, touching off the resignation of Richard M. Nixon (who truly was a shyster). That era, too, corresponds with a spike in gold.

Hat tips for chart: Wikipedia and RealTerm.de.