Obama, McCain Face Most Pressure Since FDR to Speed Transition

[ben_meyers]

The last time a presidential transition took place under such dire conditions was after the 1932 election. It was a period when fear and uncertainty gripped the nation, and that included a near-successful attempted assassination of President- elect Roosevelt that claimed the life of Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak.

A month before Roosevelt's inauguration in March 1933, he rejected suggestions from President Herbert Hoover to cooperate on plans to rescue the economy and the nation's banks. When Hoover asked for a joint statement to calm the public, Roosevelt took two weeks to decline the invitation -- responding only after getting a second letter.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aFyM0BoK72AM&refer=home

Whoever wins inherits a crapstorm of nearly unprecedented nature. I only hope they are given the time to work on things before the electorate turns on them, but I don't have a lot of confidence in that.