With the markets currently in turmoil, the Congressional Budget Office has introduced some reason for cautious optimism.  In testimony delivered to the House Budget Committee today, CBO Director Peter Orszag stated, "Although recent data suggest that the probability of a recession in 2008 has increased, CBO does not expect the slowdown in economic growth to be large enough to register as a recession."  He went on to say, "CBO expects the economy to rebound after 2008, as the negative effects of the turmoil in the housing and financial markets fade."

Of course, long term growth will require us to address uncompetitive corporate tax rates, unsustainable entitlement programs, and numerous other challenges.  But for today, let's celebrate a little bit of good news.