Thought for today, and a question

While the people retain their virtue, and vigilance, no administration, by any extreme of wickedness or folly, can very seriously injure the government, in the short space of four years.

- Abraham Lincoln

Is the disastrous state of our nation due to our own lack of 'virtue and vigilance;' or because the damage dragged on - unchecked - for eight full years instead of four?

We did surprise the establishment by sending a Democratic majority to Congress in 2006, assuming that they would push back and 'clean the place up.' They chose to do nothing. They didn't even vote to end the war in Iraq (which has cost us billions and resulted in an enormous debt to Communist China, not to mention ongoing loss of life.) They chose not to hold the Bush Administration accountable, even when the multitude of crimes committed by this administration became evident.

All of these components have led us to our current state of economic collapse and lack of respect around the globe.

President Jimmy Carter said yesterday that the "atrocious economic policies of the Bush administration had caused the worst global financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s." True. But what of the Democratic Congress we elected in 2006, and their responsibility to act as a check on those economic policies?

Seems to me that there is more than enough blame to go around.

My question for today: does our current state of affairs reflect badly on our vigilance as citizens, or on Democratic capitulation?

I still plan to vote for Obama. But I can't stop wondering... have the Democrats learned anything at all from this disaster? And if they haven't, do we really have any hope - other than in the foresight of one potentially great leader, Barack Obama - that this country can pull out if its nosedive?