Looks like the liberal mandate is pretty much been sabotaged by "moderate" Democrats led by Evan Bayh. His fathers legacy of helping those nasty Blue Collar workers has been dumped in favor of populist rhetoric masking conservative inclinations toward public services. The Democrats won in name only; seems like the Senate is populated with ideological transvestites, who would be Republicans in a more transparent milieu, and rather rightward Republicans at that, given the seismic shift to the right in ideology over the last 30 years...

Looks like were stuck with a banking bailout incapable of even considering temporary nationalization; instead we get a deal where the public assumes 90 percent of the risk in buying mortgage garbage, which the people who fucked us can later sell for hefty returns. At any rate, its reported by Krugman and others, that the strategy they are pursuing is shadowing-to a frightening degree-what the Japanese did prior to their "lost decade." Unfortuantely, Barack has put into place a barrage of Clintonian bureaucrats, some of the same involved in the original laissez-faire financial orgies deregulating the markets and repealing Glass-Stengal.

Those who do not remember the past, are usually Americans...