At times (ok, most times) it's really despairing so many knee-jerk posts blaming Obama, the debt ceiling, or any other economic data for that matter. As you observe, it's got absolutely nothing to do with any fundamental factors. In fact, it's all about the agenda. It's been a long time in the making (98 years to be exact), but we're nearing some kind of transition point.
Now that the debt ceiling has been raised, my guess is the oligarchs are demanding those extra $trillions to be immediately funneled into the markets, or else. Bernanke knows he can't fool people with another round of stealth QE. Nope, this time we-the-people have to literally beg for it; that way he can operate clearly in the open.
At some point when they determine the cries for money-printing have reached a fever pitch, they'll jump back in and send the Dow to over 20k. Of course, in real terms it will be worth far less than 10k a decade ago, but the sheep have proven time & time again that they react only to surface level stimuli.
The % of people who actually understand our debt-as-money system are probably under 1% - and that would still be 3m people. Hmm, make that .001%.
Is it coincidental that the Federal Reserve Act was enacted in 1913, and the 16th Amendment (income tax) was ratified the same year?