From PRI, Public Radio International and KCRW Santa Monica, this is To the Point.

It was a year of big stories, politics, the economy, lifestyles. What's ahead in 2009?

I'm Sarah Terry sitting in for Warren Allney, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International, a daily look at the issues Americans care about most.

An election that turned conventional political wisdom upside down and an economy that turned everything upside down.

2008 was a year of some of the most profound changes Americans have experienced in decades.

How will those changes play out in the year ahead? Can Obama capitalize on a new political landscape?

Will the economy stabilize? What's happened to the American dream? On reporter's notebook later on,

kicking off the new year on the gridiron, we'll toss the ball a bit.

First, the news.

Support for To the Point comes from subscribers of KCRW Santa Monica and from the Public Radio International Program Fund, whose contributors include the Ford Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the Rockefeller Foundation,

and its campaign for American workers. More at rockfound.org. I'm Sarah Terry, sitting in for Warren

Alney, back with To the Point from PRI. A black man won the White House, while a white woman from Alaska

won the hearts of conservatives. The economy imploded as financial

scandals rocked the headlines, and Americans began to rethink their consumer ways. 2008 was definitely

one for the history books. What's ahead in 2009? On reporter's notebook, it's a football time of year,

bowls, coaches, and corporate sponsors.

First, this news update.

Senate Democrats have made it clear they won't be seating anyone appointed by Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich.

Blagojevich yesterday appointed former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris to fill Barack Obama's vacant U.S. Senate seat, setting the stage for a possible constitutional showdown.

But that's not the only Senate seat that remains open with just a week to go before a new Senate is sworn in.

I'm joined by John Krausauer, a reporter for Politico.com. Thanks for being here.

Thanks for having me. Let's start with that Illinois, infamous Illinois Senate seat.

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