Overall, earnings reports have continued to beat the low bar of expectations.

Bulls have regained their footing and recruited some reinforcements, as the S&P 500 on Wednesday powered right through its 5.5-year intraday high of 1576 on increased trading volume to set a new record of 1589.

Cash flush investors who have been waiting for a buying opportunity must be feeling like the guy standing outside the sold-out concert looking for someone willing to sell him a ticket. Stocks just won’t pull back much, despite a huge wall of worry that one might expect would put some quicksand under the bulls’ feet.

An inordinately contentious and dispiriting election season left virtually everyone who was paying attention with a bitter taste in their mouth about the say-whatever-it-takes politicians that so desperately seek the honor of representing us. But never fear, at least we can still look to the top brass in our military for leaders with the utmost in discipline and integrity, right?

U.S. stocks rallied on Election Day Tuesday, ostensibly in anticipation of a “surprise” Romney win. But on Wednesday, after huge dollars were spent on rancorous campaigns and attack ads that only further deepened the divide in our country, we woke up to find ourselves with the same President and divided Congress that previously failed to address the looming Fiscal Cliff.

Five years ago this month, the S&P 500 hit all-time high of 1576. It closed Wednesday at 1461. Can the market make a run at that all-time high? Well, the biggest threat at the moment to bullish sentiment is the Fiscal Cliff, but both presidential candidates have a plan for dealing with it, and Congress is unlikely to want to take the fall for defying the new President and sending the country back into recession.