Update at end: NBC5's Bob Sirott responds to this post

Persuading Americans that Barack Obama is an effective president won't be easy.  So local news outlets are lending a hand when they can.  This was obvious last night on Chicago's NBC5 News at 10.  Anchor Bob Sirott reported:

And now to a sign the president's economic stimulus is working.  Bank of American today announced a $2.8 billion profit for the first quarter.  That report was much better than expected and followed positive results from other banks.  It also comes after a loss of more than $2 billion for the last three months of 2008.  Bank of America received $45 billion as part of the financial rescue package.

Sirott's positive assessment of Obama's plan isn't justified.  The big profits he touted are largely illusionary. Andrew Ross Sorkin explained why in "Bank Profits Appear Out of Thin Air," which appeared in yesterday's New York Times: