they did govern by steering us and our future into the rocks.

And we applauded all the way, even after the ship hit the rocks.  Only now, with a new hurricane bearing down on the still stranded ship, is the applause starting to die down.  Most people still see no relation between Reagan's "government is the problem" and "let the fox guard the henhouse" approach and our current difficulties.  They are outraged at bankers using public monies to pay bonuses, but see this as some sort of aberration instead of recognizing it as an epiphany of the actual nature of the existing system.  These are the sort who "would hate to think" that that is how our system actually works.  

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."