Rick Newman

They're cool. That's for sure.

The Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt could turn out to be the most innovative mass-produced cars in a century. By taking some or all of their power from a household electrical outlet, they offer the first real glimpse of transportation that doesn't rely on petroleum—and could even crest the magical 100-miles-per-gallon threshold, once the official electricity-to-gasoline conversions are complete. Even better, the two electrics offer something new without the ugly packaging that has doomed futuremobiles in the past. They're cute, actually.

[See 15 cars fueling Detroit's revival.]

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Relief, at last.

That's the view of many business leaders, who feel that a highly anticipated Republican triumph in the midterm elections will unchain the economy and make life easier for their firms. President Obama and his Democratic allies in Congress have dominated the Washington agenda for the past two years, using their majorities to pass healthcare reform, financial reform, and other measures that raised costs and regulatory burdens on businesses. There could be more of that in the future, as the need for new taxes, to help pay down the national debt, seems likely to hit businesses hard. So if Republicans seize one or both houses of Congress in the midterms, they'll have the power, theoretically, to limit government involvement in the economy and promote "pro-business" policies.

[See 12 ways to stop America's decline.]

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It might seem like a respite for struggling homeowners, but the sudden snags and slowdowns in thousands of foreclosure proceedings could prolong the housing bust well beyond its fifth year—and spell deep trouble for the broader economy.

[See how to plan for a double-dip recession.]

Like the housing bust itself, the recent foreclosure mess arrived with little warning, and the main question now is whether it's blowing over or mushrooming into a much bigger problem. On the surface, the issue is paperwork. Problems with flawed affidavits, improper shortcuts, and "robosigners"—bank officials who signed off on so many foreclosures that they couldn't possibly have reviewed all the details—have prompted big lenders like Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, GMAC Mortgage, and a few others to suspend foreclosure proceedings in many states while banks scour their records and regulators probe the issue.

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If Republicans sweep the midterm elections and take over Congress, as many expect, they'll have a chance to correct some of the mistakes the Obama administration made two years earlier.

Or repeat them.

[See how the middle class is shrinking.]

Politicians repeatedly misunderstand why voters send them to Washington. Every time there's a change in the status quo, the new blood concludes that the electorate has issued a "mandate" and demanded sweeping change. But voters don't always want sweeping change. Mostly, they want the things that aren't working right to work better. Still, the empowered newcomers seize the moment to institutionalize as much of their ideological agenda as possible. Time and again, the overreach turns off voters, and they seek change all over again.

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