Until they prove otherwise, I'm going to assume that the spineless Democratic Congressional leadership will still allow the Republicans to twist them into pretzels and force them to capitulate to Republican demands.

I fully expect the "stimulus" package to include deep cuts in the capital gains tax, on the grounds that it is necessary to encourage investors to shore up the sagging stock market.

I also expect that it will include an amendment that locks in any regulatory changes made by the outgoing Bush administration. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if they added a provision that said that federal hiring rules didn't apply if you have an 'R' after your name and made it retroactive to cover all the "burrowed" Republican ideologues -- all in the name of "bipartisanship" or "looking forward" or some other such B.S.

So okay Democrats, prove me wrong!

The beauty of this is that vetoes should be unnecessary, and filibusters nigh unto impossible to sustain. This kind of energy from government and this somnolent nation is needed!

Cue the ReThuglican whining about The War Against Christmas.

Seriously, I hope they do it because you know Obama would smack them down, hard. Those clowns are like a bunch of Wiley Coyotes. They hear the whistling, they know it's getting louder but they won't see the Acme anvil until .02 seconds before impact.

It would be cool if he took the oath of office and then signed a few bills. I know I'm being greedy, (and likely displaying a terrible ignorance of procedure) but it would be awesome.

I just hope he resists the temptation for a fast fix to the economic crisis, that he doesn't simply feed the manic consumptive and self-indulgent society that we have become, that he doesn't succumb to our demands for instant gratification and solutions to all our problems and needs.

I really don't mean to go all preachy, and I'm certainly as guilty as anyone in the over-consuming department, but enough is enough. We need more investment, less immediate spending or our society will collapse, if it isn't already in the process of doing so. And we have the very serious crises - energy, global warming, infrastructure decay - that require such a change in our national economic policy (which currently consists of just going shopping).

Think about that $160 billion tax rebate disaster. Obama called for spending $15 billion on alternative energy over the next ten years, way too little in my opinion, but the point is we could have paid for the whole program up front, and then some, with that ridiculous tax rebate that we pissed down the drain. And it didn't do a bit of good.

Haven't we had enough? It's time for real change.

One Hill aide said, "We are already tired, and he hasn't even been inaugurated yet."

If you're a Dem working on the Hill right now, you'd better buckle down and take your vitamins, because we're facing a lot of problems as a nation right now, and you signed on to be part of the team to fix them. There are likely to be a lot of long days and late nights ahead for you. That's just the way it goes.

If you're not up to that, then quit whining and find another line of work, because there's no shortage of talented people out there who'd like to come to Washington and be part of this moment, who are ready to roll up their sleeves and get to work.

Hey now, that aide isn't complaining. He's just stating factually that he's tired. Who isn't? Hell, I bet Obama would like to have a break about now. He's essentially doing serious overtime right now because the 'real' president is nowhere to be found.

@sparky: "filibusters nigh unto impossible to sustain?" Think again. McConnell will use every means at his disposal to keep a stimulus bill off Obama's desk on day one. Expect one of the nastiest fights in recent Senate history in the two weeks before the inauguration. The cloture vote will hinge on Snowe, Voinovich and Martinez.