“It will probably end when Obama becomes president in January or soon after that so people can say that he ended the recession.”
Why not!? It worked for Clinton. That’s precisely what he did. He campaigned railing against the worst economy in 50 years, and soon after Inauguration Day he turned around and said (paraphrase) “Well, it isn’t as bad as I thought it was.”
No, I believe Clinton got into office and complained that the economy was even worse than he'd thought. Thus, no tax cuts but tax increases.