sophiaserpentia has written an eye-opening (to me, anyway)
description of why the political situation in this country is much worse than I imagined it was.
In spite of my surprise at the seriousness of the problem, it is no surprise to me that the Democratic Party is wasting a hard-won opportunity to turn this country around. If they keep it up, we are looking at another 8-16 years of Conservative Republican control over the country (and the fiscal and social nightmare that will accompany it) once Obama's term is up.