If the Republicans were smart

they'd make sure any bailout bill passed now was as good as it could possibly be. If Obama comes into office in January with an economy that is plainly falling apart, he will have a mandate like no president since FDR. They ought to be working their asses off right now to avoid that, but they are too beholden to know-nothingism, probably too demoralized, to think in any way beyond the immediate and the tactical. In the long run, good governance(like keeping the economy from going over a cliff) should be good politics, too, but the Republicans have no idea what good governance is during the best of times, which these aren't, and what was good tactical politics even two years ago, "White flag of surrender," for example, isn't good anymore. These guys are done for.