well said Gregor. I guess that is a point of this post - now is the time for the New Energy Deal. And given the constraints, we can't take baby steps. Obama, and all of us, have to be willing to take risks. I think he knows that, but the electorate doesn't understand how wide the structural problems are, and will probably cry at the first sign of pain...If one understands the Neurobiology of Dread, all we have to do to 'accept' short term pain, is make long term pain seem either higher or unavoidable (broadly speaking):

"Most people don't like waiting for an unpleasant outcome, and want to get it over with as soon as possible," explains Dr. Berns, an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Emory University School of Medicine. "The only explanation for this is that the dread of having something hanging over your head is worse than the thing that you are dreading. It is a commonplace experience, but standard economic models of decision-making don't deal with this issue.