Reeling towards disaster?

As the summer of 2008 neared an end, the United States seemed reeling towards potential disaster from a variety of dangers. Barack Obama seemed to be the ultimate "empty suit", but was picking out the new wallpaper patterns and curtains for the Whitehouse. The world had a near encounter with $150 a barrel or higher oil. The stock market seemed on the verge of collapse as was the banking system. Pessimists had decided that Barack Obama and Democratic control of all aspects of the government was just something that people needed to experience and that all that could be done was to grit their teeth and bear it. In excess of 90% of the people only noticed things that directly impacted their lives, such as the price of gasoline. The question was: "how will it play out?".