"A New Reason for the Drop in Crime"

Bill Otis at Crime & Consequences reacts skeptically to a Slate article suggesting that President Obama's election has something to do with this. In part:

Yes, the article does begin with a mumbled admission that the reasons for the generation-long drop in crime are already fairly well understood.  It even admits, albeit quickly and quietly, that increased incarceration and more aggressive policing are in the mix.  But the real reason, you see, is that Obama's election has "given the government more legitimacy."