Financial crisis meets landmark election

What a mash-up these weeks have been. By any measure, this is one of the most historic elections America has seen.

We’ll elect an African American president, or a woman as vice president.

We’ll come to the end of one of the most controversial presidencies in modern times.

We’ll also likely see Democratic control of Congress solidified, following a long era of Republican control.

Throw onto that fire a massive, systemic meltdown of the U.S. economy and you have yesterday’s House vote, where the Wall Street bailout went down in flames.

Democracy ain’t pretty, but it sure is interesting.

So here’s a prediction. To avoid voter wrath, lawmakers will pass a couple of smaller, stop-gap spending measures, designed to prop up banks and other key institutions through January.

The message to Wall Street: Hang in there, help is on the way.

When the new President takes office, he and Congress will approve something big, something painful…and something really unpopular.