But it's called grief, or rather a very dysfunctional reaction to a grief-inducing situation. Bushco gave them everything they ever wanted (well, except for outlawing abortion and locking up, deporting, or forcing change on all GLBT people), and instead of creating the amazing, patriotic, "rising tide lifts all boats" pax Americana nirvana that they absolutely knew it had to create (even though experts told them a million times that what they wanted would bring disaster in every direction), it did, indeed, bring total disaster.

But to enter into the grief of the reality that everything they've so earnestly believed in has been exactly as misguided, stupid and pig headed as they always feared, in their heart of hearts, it might really be, they would have to do some very un-manly things. Entering into grief so deep would require sadness and tears, but everyone knows, "big boys don't cry," so rather than go where they would need to go to deal with what's happened, learn from it and go on with their lives, they're doing the only parts of grief they allow themselves:

They're doing ANGER, at anyone and everyone or no one in particular, but the desperate cry beneath it is "This CAN'T be happening!"

They're doing DENIAL: there was no BUSH, there was only Carter, and Clinton, and, Gore and Kerry, and, and, and! WE didn't have anything to do with what happened! NOTHING happened. EVERYTHING'S JUST FINE!

They're doing BARGAINING: We need to DO something, but since we can't move past our angry denial, we can only do things TO OTHER PEOPLE. We need to obstruct the government so much that change is impossible. We need to screw up the government so much that the country falls apart and everyone comes crawling back to us! Or... we need to do all the same things we WERE doing only do them even MORE and BETTER!

They're like lovers who have tried to promise you very expensive gifts and trips and houses and cars and the provision of a life of luxury to attract and keep you for themselves, only to have you discover that no amount of luxury or promises of luxury makes up for the fact that the person you're with is a pig who, like a con man, has spent all your money, taken out credit cards in your name and stolen everything valuable you had hidden away!

Now that you've finally kicked them out of YOUR apartment, they're busy blaming you (the American people) to anyone who will listen (Fox news), calling you every name in the book (irresponsible losers), and trying to make sure you never have a successful relationship with anyone else (Obama).

Because of their dysfunctional personalities (from bad parenting), most of them are unable to move through this grief in healthy ways, but can ONLY do these pathetically dysfunctional things they're doing (like allowing Rubaugh to try to bully the entire country in an effort to get even with us for kicking them out).

Still, some of them will eventually enter into and move through their grief in reasonably healthy ways, learn from their mistakes, and come to better, more informed, more logical conclusions than they had before.

The rest will become angry, bitter old people, the rest of whose lives will be filled with woulda, coulda, shoulda, and "We were right all along!" Even if the country completely recovers from the mess they've made, they will always claim it's no where near as amazing and wonderful as it COULD have been if they had still been in charge.

Let's see... fake ghetto black, fake "consevative," fake "pro-life," fake anti-gay, fake leader, fake... ????

Isn't he just about the perfect leader of the party that managed to fake it's way through the last thirty years, touting smaller government, protection of individual rights and caring for the little guy; faking out the public with patriotic sloganeering while everything they did was the antithesis of what they swore to the heavens they stood for?

At this rate, he and Rubaugh should be singing bombastic operatic duets any day (except that Rubaugh doesn't sing duets within anybody - he's strictly a solo act who doesn't tolerate anyone else taking up space on "his" stage).

Can battle it out with Sarah Palin for leadership of the Grand Obstructioninst Party. Of course then Rubaugh will take the winner down and remind us all who really runs that show.

Stop picking on poor little Elphie. He can't help it.

We all know you're a fascist. Give it a rest.

All current financial products submitted for approval (and the possibility of forced alteration) by the federal government, prior approval of new products (including individual credit card agreements), constant monitoring to be sure products approved do not morph into something that was not approved, regulators calling investment companies posing as customers to ferret out misleading and/or fraudulent claims that have been and are still being routinely made. Beefed up and constantly vigilant enforcement including prosecution of offenders.

Lacking these, the tendency to take unreasonable risks for the promise of huge rewards will continue to be the order of the day in the routine financial dealings of US investment/brokerage/banking firms. Nothing short of regulatory fascism will protect the public against the power of the financial/investment industry to lie to, cheat, and steal from the general public who can be depended upon not to understand how they're being victimized, or even that they're BEING victimized until it's too late.