Regarding your post about the Republicans wanting to turn this into 1994 all over again, there are a few problems with that. One is, as you've mentioned before, the harsh millstone of demographics on the GOP. We've changed the map in our favor for decades, and we'll be the ones doing the absurd gerrymandering to keep our seats.
Next, I don't think our fiscal picture is that bleak once we get out of Iraq and get rid of those awful Bush tax cuts. I think that part of the middle-upper higher end of Obama's tax cut is going to have to get paired down, and we'll see some other reforms and cuts along the way. But democrats are going to have to get used to some deficit spending-this isn't going to be a Rubin-style treasury that goes for hardcore deficit reduction. It's going to be about running a deficit to get really important stuff like energy independence and health care done, while hoping to slowly reduce the deficit to a more reasonable annual number by the time Obama leaves office.
BTW, I think kos and the openleft crew are totally off their rockers regarding the bailout. Schumer/Frank/Dodd's bill looked good-it started out small, had good oversight, and got a lot of key provisions into it that needed to be there. No one ever wants to write a bailout bill, and they aren't popular with the public because they keenly point out the government's total failure to manage the situation, but this was a good one and I am beside myself in the hard left's refusal to accept reality.
The one thing I do agree with them is that the case for the necessity of the bailout has not been laid out clear, and though I feel that this is for market confidence reasons, this is taxpayer money and we deserve the know why this is really necessary so quickly.
As for the House GOP-McCain was the only Republican who could give them the cover with their constituencies. They are not worried about losing their seats this year but I am sure dead worried about getting hit with a primary battle in 2010 by the Club for Growth and other right-wing horror crews if they supported it.
BTW this election ended last monday, with the "fundamentals of the economy are strong" being McCain's Dukakis tankride moment. Right now it's just the intolerable wait until election day, and wondering which one of the swing states McCain might actually win.
