Democrats and the Economy

"Every time Bush opens his mouth, the stock market goes down", a comment made to my husband this morning by an ex-Republican aroused my curiousity. I couldn't really question the open mouth/stock market drop without a call to a stock broker, but I didn't think that question would be appreciated on Friday afternoon. But I could see what I could find about Democratic/Republican administrations and the economy. What I did find is very interesting. The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco's Economic Letter (1998) reported slightly higher returns during Democratic administrations. Two columns by Michael Kinsley, in 2004 and in 2005 are a bit stronger.
It seems to me our Democratic frontrunners should be talking more about the economy, along with other issues important to us. Let's make the Republicans defend themselves, not put us on the defensive.