A day after Chrysler LLC said it was cutting 800 dealerships, General Motors Corp. on Friday told about 1,100 of its U.S. dealers their franchises will be terminated late next year. Like everyone else, I find this news deeply troubling. In spite of the rumors we've been hearing about this recession hitting bottom, the fact is we have a very long way to go before we'll see much improvement in the economy. And, even when we do, the U.S. economy will likely not look much like it did before this downturn. Changes in America's buying patterns are likely to be permanent, and our manufacturing base will likely never look the same after this seismic economic event. The America which will emerge from this crisis will be a much different world, perhaps one in which automobiles may go the way of televisions--75% of which are made in Asia. The fact is, the party has been over for a long time, but the Bush administration--yes, the Bush administration--did a fairly good job of covering it up in a vain hope of a Republican victory in the 2008 presidential election. As gasoline prices now inch back toward $3 if not $4, we're seeing all the dust under the Bush presidential rug--the economic disaster the administration surely knew was possible if not probable. The Republicans are desperately trying to find a formula that will effectively blame Barack Obama for this, but, much like Chevrolets and Chryslers, America simply isn't buying. We are now getting the fuller picture of how badly we've been lied to and what those lies have cost us. Which isn't to say the recession will never end, but that the recession's end is likely only the beginning of what will most certainly be a very different America.