Thomas B. Edsall points out a thought-provoking Bloomberg article on recession fears and the impact an economic downturn may have on presidential politics. Suffice it to say, a recession probably would hurt the incumbent party. American and global politics, like American and global society and culture, is characterized by unpredictability, indeterminancy, and contingency. Things change, and things often change rapidly - a point Robert J. Samuelson makes in this Newsweek column. What are the likely change agents? Your guess is as good as mine! But, for starters, I'd point to the continuing sub-prime mortgage fall out as well as instability in and around Turkey.