Bad economic news and struggling financial institutions have pounded away at the inherent optimism of the American public long enough that it has finally broken down. Consumer confidence, which had remained high through most of last year's market troubles, fell at the very end of 2007. The country's optimism seemed to tumble with its confidence. Two responses to the economic realities that caused the collapse - anger and fear - prompted consumers to make significant cutbacks in their spending and individuals to express greater frustration with specific problems. For some individuals, the way forward is to start over, to clean the slate and create a new way of addressing current realities. That perspective has already altered the dynamics of this year's national election and will eventually affect the workplace and markets.