How Now Dow Jow...er Jones

I'm confused about the fascination with the Dow Jones Index on the nightly news and water cooler conversations. It's a barometer of sorts, sure. But it's hardly the most representative. And while currently it sucks and the economy sucks (sorry, technical terms, stay with me)...it's not like the DJI causes economic problems or necessarily reflects them.

I'm not trying to say everything is peachy - every indicator is in a bad place right now. But why does DJI have a choke hold on our national psyche? Especially considering the fact that many of the people who rattle off the "number at the bell" don't really have much in the stock market anyway. If the average net worth in this country is negative (i.e., families owe more than they own)...then the DJI's trajectory is interesting, but not that compelling, eh?

I own mutual funds, and I've watched them shrink dramatically -- but I still plan to continue buying. "Buy low" right? Beats the alternative: locking in those losses.

There's two polar opposite outcomes here...first, the whole thing collapses into a pile of ruble in which case my portfolio, whether in a stock or cash position, will be as useful as Confederate bonds. OR, and I admit I think this more likely, there's a recovery somewhere down the path, in which case, staying in is the right choice.

But I digress...my really point of this was WHY is the DJI the touchstone? Just because it's quick and easy? People think they understand it (though I imagine very few do).... I dunno, it just seems weird to me that in a 180 min news update, the DJI numbers get spat out as if they had great impact on our daily lives. Or maybe I'm missing something....