Reason, Animal Spirits, And Obama

In the process of dismantling George Akerlof and Robert Shiller's new book, Richard Posner evaluates the Obama administration's economic maneuvers thus far:

We will discover soon enough whether the measures taken by the Obama administration are reviving the animal spirits of producers and consumers. The intentions are good. But the lack of focus, the partisan squabbling, the dizzying policy oscillations, the delays in execution, and the harassment of bankers are bad. By increasing the uncertainty of the business environment, these things are dampening the animal spirits--the courage to reason and act in the face of an uncertain future.