The Midterms Are Here.

Posted by Sean Doyle, November 1, 2010.

A homeless man begs President Obama as he (Obama) leaves a French restaurant in Chicago yesterday. (Photo Courtesy of Reuters/ Larry Downing.)

Two years have passed since the historic election of Barack Obama and America is still mired in the longest economic slump since WWII. Unemployment stubbornly hovers around 10% despite a myriad of Government and Federal Reserve programs and strategies. The American people have lost faith in both public and private solutions to an economic mess which they feel they did not create. Enter the Tea Party. A loose confederation of fiscally concerned citizens and oddballs.

Because of this nascent and controversial political movement, Republicans are expected to take back control of the House of Representatives and make major strides in the Senate. This conservative retake will deal a serious, if not fatal, blow to the Obama governing coalition. The burning question now, is how will this newly divided government effect the still fragile "recovery?"

If you are in the Krugman-Keynesian camp, you believe that the only way out of this economic black hole is massive government intervention and Federal Reserve quantitative easing. If you are in the Santelli-Ryan camp you see a government debt monster that eats away at the entrepreneurial spirit of America and leaves us uncompetitive in the global economy.

Image Courtesy of The New York Times/ Election 2010.

So, depending on which camp you're in, the results of today's election are either financial armageddon or fiscal salvation. Just the kind of hyperbole we need at this economically frail moment! Happy voting!