The Dow was about even for the day, maybe down 10 or 20 points after yesterday's turmoil, until the chairman of the Federal Reserve started a televised speech earlier this afternoon.

As Ben Bernanke offered a gloomy portrait of the economy, the Dow ticker on the lower right of the screen zipped rapidly downward.

Twenty points, 50, a hundred and more. All I could think of was, "Give this guy the hook before we go under!"

By the time Bernanke was done, the Dow had fallen by more than 300 points.

So much for a reassuring presence.

Now, the president is speaking. He's giving a pep talk in what appears to be a warehouse of a private sector employer in Virginia. He's saying things are tough, but we're going to get out of the mess. The markets will be stabilized, etc., but it will take time.

Hold onto your hat, I'm thinking, a wary eye on that omnipresent Dow ticker.

It could be worse. No dramatic downturn in the Dow, no significant gain either, as W. tries to explain the crisis.

I wish I had confidence in him. But he used up his credibility card a few years ago.