janelane wrote:
Whenever I start to hyperventilate about the state of the US if the Tea Party gets their way (think pre-Victorian England -- no education or voting rights for women...

But wouldn't it be fun to see Palin rationalize an end to Women's Suffrage?

The realities:
- There is no solution to the jobs situation. Things are actually about as well off as they could possibly be under the circumstances. Its going to be a long, hard slog.

- Its easy for Republicans to throw rocks at the level of fiscal spending and debt, and there is nothing that the Dems can do about it, because those things are necessary right now due to the economic situation.

So, in a sense, Obama is getting Hoovered. Hoover was held responsible for the consequences of the excesses of Coolidge era. But really the current economic hangover isn't a consequence of the Bush era so much as its a consequence of the Clinton era (and various policies of the Republican Congress he probably should have been quicker to veto).

Also:

- National healthcare movements are always extremely unpopular at passage. Popularity doesn't grow until the system is operational and people experience it.

People are genuinely unhappy about national healthcare.

The problem is the republicans have moved really far to the right. Rightward shifts during economic downturns are dangerous.

Hopefully the people don't follow. But I can't see what the Democrats can do about this election. They are going to loose some seats. That is the cost of national healthcare.

RE: Op-Ed Columnist - How to Lose an Election Without Really Trying - NYTimes.com