Changes in America?

So with the Democrats sweeping into control of the House of Representatives, things are changing in the US. Donald Rumsfeld resigned as Secretary of Defense and George Bush's rhetoric has turned to conciliatory remarks. Will this mark more fundamental change in the US government? Or will there be deadlock?

My bet is on deadlock. For all his talk of conciliation, dubya is still the same man who stubbornly refuses to see others' point of view. Like most modern neo/theo-cons, Bush sees things in terms of black and white. In order to work with a Democratic House (and possibly Senate), compromises will need to be made and conservatives like Bush are incapable of compromise. Either Bush learns to compromise and quick, or the executive and legislative branches of the US government will grind to a halt.

If that were to happen, the next two years will be difficult for the Americans. Iraq will bog down even further, with the Bush White House unwilling to pull the troops out, but the Congress unwilling to leave them there. No firm plan will coalesce one way or the other, so the troops that are there are trapped, trapped in a country that for the most part doesn't want them there. Stuck there by a country that can't come to an agreement due to the polarization the the Bush Republicans have fostered over the past six years.

Iraq's not the worst of it. Though bad for US security and for the troops stationed there, the US economy isn't going to do well if a contradictory messages come from the government. A lack of investor confidence will further deflate the US dollar causing a further move to the Euro as a reserve currency. The slowdown in investment will also cause a slowdown in the economy and the resultant problems that will cause. All not good for the worlds largest national economy. The only question is who will the voters blame for the stagnation in 2008, the Democrats or the Republicans?