boxing match and his party had a stunningly weak showing in the recent parliamentary elections. what about washington? as you know, one year from now we could have a president mitt romney or newt gingrich or, of course, another obama term. south of the border that perennial pain in washington's back side hugo chavez himself needs to win an election, though he rigged the last one. there will be changes, too, in mexico, egypt, taiwan and kenya just to name a few. some of these elections and leadership changes involve nothing more than personnel shifts. others will be occasions for fundamental debates about the future course of the country. they could mean shifts so that we see a different europe, a different china, or a different america in the next few years. so for those of you who have been struck by the volatility of recent years, the roller coaster ride we've all been on from boom to bust, crisis to crisis, i would say keep that seat belt