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takyon writes:

Vilifying President Obama has become a routine for the National Rifle Association, but firearms manufacturers should be praising him for massively raising sales, even late into his second term:

If you're into gun stocks, then Merry Christmas to you: Smith & Wesson has more than doubled in market value, while Sturm, Ruger & Co. has jumped two-thirds. Both saw sharp gains last week in the wake of President Obama's speech on terrorism, a good chunk of which was devoted to guns.

Which leads me to the following statement: Barack Obama is the best friend the American gun industry has ever had, and it is going to miss him when he's gone. With Obama as a lightning rod, the gun industry has profited like never before during his presidency.

By now, the pattern is familiar: A terrible shooting. A movie theater. A schoolroom full of children. A church. The president comes into the briefing room, and we scribble down his words of sorrow, of indignation — and pleas for Congress to do something. He goes back to the Oval Office. Gun sales surge. A few weeks, or even days later, the cycle repeats.

[...] How good [is President Obama] for business? Some data from the pro-gun National Shooting Sports Foundation:

[More after the break.]

• When Obama was sworn in seven years ago the economic impact of the U.S. firearms industry was $19 billion. Last year: $42.9 billion.
• Full-time jobs in the gun industry have increased 58% to 263,000.
• More than 100 million guns have been sold in the United States since Obama was first elected.
• "Some people jokingly refer to [Obama] as the salesman of the year for the industry," NSSF Senior Vice President Lawrence Keane once quipped.

No question: There's big money to be made vilifying Obama, and the gun industry should thank its lucky stars that he'll be around for another year.

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