It's going to be interesting as the election year heats up which aspect of Bush's performance takes greater heat. His dismal handling of the economy - the tax cuts and the drain on the treasury that the war has created - or his impeachable offenses, like his involvement in the Valerie Plame leak case or illegal wiretapping.
People hear Abu Ghraib, Mission Accomplished and Halliburton, and they think of this administration's hubris and incompetence, but when their houses are being repossessed and their credit lines cut off, there could be some chaos in the streets.
That is what has rekindled this Blog. I'm not sure where it will go, but looking ahead to 2008, there is no shortage of material.
There needs to be some accountability for the current regime in Washington D.C., but at least there are voices out there calling for impeachment including Dennis Kucinich and this columnist in today's Seattle Post-Intelligencer. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/340904_focusimpeachment25.html
There are many articles this week were focused on the coming U.S. financial crisis, including:
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2007/12/bush200712
The president has not driven the United States into a recession during his almost seven years in office. Unemployment stands at a respectable 4.6 percent. But the other side of the ledger groans with distress: a tax code that has become hideously biased in favor of the rich; a national debt that will probably have grown 70 percent by the time this president leaves Washington; a swelling cascade of mortgage defaults; a record near-$850 billion trade deficit; oil prices that are higher than they have ever been; and a dollar so weak that for an American to buy a cup of coffee in London or Paris—or even the Yukon—becomes a venture in high finance.

My thoughts are that regardless of what happens, it looks like 2008 will be an interesting year to watch in the U.S.
Top stories in my opinion that deserve attention - winner of the B.C.S. NCAA football game notwithstanding:
How the election plays out - I mean, could Americans really ever vote another modern-day Republican into national office. I mean really. But you see the attack machine already greasing its wheels, don't you?
How the U.S. economy responds to simultaneous rise in crude oil prices, the collapsing housing market and rising deficit and war costs.
Better question: how will the U.S. consumer respond when no more credit is available and bad debts are called for payment?
Will $4 per gallon gas become a reality and what does it mean? Could it be a good thing?
How will the U.S. dollar fare against the Euro and what will a rise in prices do to the marketplace?
Will there be a surprise attack on Iran to sidestep what could be an impeachment year?
I don't think of anything as inevitable because history is not inevitable. There are forces and responses to those forces, but the Republican Party has taught me that anything is possible and the Democratic Party has taught me that anything (in an election year) can be messed up.