 Forgotten, or at least not discussed that night in the caucus room, was what had been sown in America by January 20, 2009. That was the day the meeting happened, the day that President Obama was sworn into office. On that evening, while the ruling party celebrated in tuxedos and the minority party retrenched over steaks and red wine, U.S. unemployment rate had climbed to 7.6 percent, the highest such indicator of national misery in 18 years. Things could get much worse. Joblessness in America would exceed 8 percent the following month.