"Pragmatic realism " starts with identifying what caused this mess to begin with. The politics of NEED, not greed.

It seems almost a given that the government must bail everyone out of this mess, There's a presumption of guilt against a free or even semi-free economy - not based on evidence, but rooted in a deeper presumption of guilt against profit initiatives and self-interest.

And unless our newly elected president acts differently, there will be more action taken based on need, which will only make the problem worse. Take a look at FDR in the early years of the great depression, and how it made a bad situation much worse.