We hate to read too much into a one-day swing of the stock market, but it's hard to escape the message that the market has lost confidence in the president's spin on the employment figures or even on the economy as a whole.
President Obama, on Wednesday: "we expect to see strong job growth in Friday's report."
President Obama, this morning: "this report is a sign that our economy is getting stronger by the day."
White House Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Christina Romer, this morning: "Today's employment situation report shows continued signs of labor market recovery."
Today's major U.S. stock market indices: down between 3.15% (the Dow) and 3.64% (Nasdaq).