Just some stuff I've been thinking about

To a large extent, the Republicans will continue to oppose anything that the Democrats propose. Dems will continue to give up and pass watered down versions of anything meant to help our country. What happens with our economy in the next two years will be very important.

It is an unusual situation where there is nearly 0% inflation, a high unemployment rate, near 0% federal funds interest rate, and a near flat growth GDP. No one want to pay higher taxes. And don't forget, we are still at war.  This all adds up to something that hasn't been experienced in modern economies and no one has really knows what the answer is. Every fiscal or monetary policy will likely have negative consequences associated with it because of the existing conditions. We will eventually figure it out. But it will most likely be too late to help much with the current situation. We will probably be able to avoid this from happening again, but something different will eventually come along and cause another economic meltdown of a different sort. It's a sign of a continuously changing idea of what capitalism means and what economies should or shouldn't be allowed to do.

The 2012 election will be close, but the Republicans could win. Historically, the economic situation in the months leading up to an election decides the winner. Incumbents rarely win in times of contracting or stagnant economies. If the Republicans do win, the Democrats will want to get things passed and will give in to right-wing policies and agendas. Then the Republicans can say "Look! WE can get the job done. Not like those stupid Dems". So will the public stand around while the Republicans basically refuse to help Americans because they don't like the flavor of the help and opposing everything would be helpful from a long-run political point of view? Or will they start making at least some concessions so things can move ahead, but possibly hand the next election to Obama? I choose to stay optimistic for now, hoping for some better decisions from both sides. But at the same time, I am highly skeptical. We have a very long way to go.

The Republicans are much better at politics than the Democrats are. But that's like saying sociopaths are better at blending in than psychopaths are.