we've got? and they're going to point to a protracted message of failure. that's going to be the battle right down to 2012. i think the president has three significant challenges. even those who think the economy's going to get better expect it to be slow and modest. and the supreme court's going to make a decision on the obama health care reform in june of 2012, and it's going to remind every voter that he spent 15 months doing that and not taking care of jobs. and then lastly, he's got a referendum. so they're going to look back, not forward, and he's got to try to change that. martha: all right. you're right. i think that's the central issue, is the perception of how things are going and what direction we're heading in at that election time. doug holtz-eakin, we'll be talking to you many times, thank you, sir. happy new year and have a good day. bill: a show of force by iran, test firing a new missile near the strait of hormuz, and that is where oil is transported. what are the consequences now of this action? welcome idaho, where they grow america's favorite potoes.