What a difference a year makes.   January 20th, 2009 was a day filled with hope and unbridled expectations as the nation's first African American President would take over the reins from a President who left the nation in near financial ruin, and at history's first judgment one of the worst President's in US history.  

The last day of the first year of Obama's administration was marked with a stunning defeat for Ted Kennedy's seat in Massachusetts eliminating a filibuster proof Senate.  The election may not have a repudiation of health care reform (Massachusetts already has reformed with mandates and supports for working families) or the President himself, but it certainly captures the general mood of the country given 10% unemployment, a housing market that has yet to right itself in many areas, and a continued fear that big corporations and big government are in cahoots draining the treasury to maintain the lifestyles of the few on Wall Street.