So, here we are, pretty much exactly where we were yesterday, but now it all looks different. Democrats are happy, Republicans are depressed, and the government will look the same for the next four years as it has for the past four.
Today’s U.S. papers led (of course) with the election results, although the British-based Financial Times clearly went to press before the outcomes were known.
I will be leaving my reluctantly assumed role as a political commentator with relief, except insofar as politics affects the economy, which will still be a lot. Perhaps I should say that I will be leaving my role as a campaign commentator instead—because, although the campaign is over, the politics is just beginning. None of the papers has a front-page article about the politics of the fiscal cliff, but all of them should.
This is a short post, as I will write a few more on exactly what the fiscal cliff might mean—and why—and provide a book review of the incredibly relevant The Price of Politics, by Bob Woodward, which is about the negotiations between the White House and Congress in the last debt ceiling debacle.
Congratulations and best of luck to all newly elected officeholders, at all levels.