The U.S. economy is like a massive freight train. President Obama has just inherited this freight train that, due to a failed Republican ideology, has been heading down a hill towards a cliff for a long time now. President Obama is right now in the process of cutting the engines and applying the brakes, and anyone who has seen a freight train try to brake going down a hill knows what I am talking about. It may take 4 years just to get the freight train to stop. Then we are all going to have to help President Obama push this freight train back up the hill with good old American blood, sweat, and tears.
Look at the country of Iceland. They followed the "free market" unfettered regulation doctrine preached by disciples like Milton Friedman and parroted by Rush Limbaugh and their country has now completely collapsed both financially and politically. The conservative government of Iceland (and has been for many years now) has become so impotent that they have actually asked the Liberal party of Iceland to take over the government for them to help bail the country out and the conservative party in the process.
How pathetic of an indictment is that towards a failed ideology. The Republicans have two choices. They can stop being obstructionist anti-Americans and lend some bipartisan support to our President or they can continue to push America towards disaster in hopes of lining their own pockets along the way and pushing the wealth disparity gap to an even greater degree between the haves and the have nots.