By Richard Russell in Dow Theory Letters: 

It's clear (at least to me) that Obama is following the path Roosevelt took during the Great Depression.

In 1933, the government devalued the dollar by 41% by raising the official price of gold from $20.67 to $35 an ounce. Devaluation makes debt easier to handle. In a devaluation, the dollar value of debt remains the same, but all other assets would be worth more (in nominal terms) whether it was a house, a stock, a car or an ounce of gold.

How our creditors who own trillions of dollar in their reserves will react to a dollar devaluation I really don't know, but a devalued dollar is a lot better than nothing. The Bernanke Fed is trying desperately to bring back inflation, and devaluing the dollar is the surest and quickest way to inflate. 

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