a question Is the tea party movement having a real effect on the politics in this country. Second if Macain was elected would we have the same thing happenning.?

The tea party is having a very real effect on the ELECTIONS in this country. Whether it has a real effect on the politics and governance of this country remains to be seen. That may take years or decades, depending on whether the movement grows and stays relevant to its members. The great allure (yes people, as horrible as our country has become, the US is still the #1 destination for immigrants from other countries) is the ability to guide your own destiny, keep what you produce, believe what you want, say what you want, vote how you want. The tea partiers want to get back to that place. Get government the hell out of everything but those items that the Constitution explicitly gives them the power to do. Which is very little. The Constitution wasn't designed to be an empowering device, it was designed to be a limiting device. Limiting the power the government has over the people. Are there crackpots in the tea party? Aren't there crackpots everywhere? You learn to live with them and limit their influence over the majority.

What scares me most about United States' prognosis is the all-too-frequent resistance of the American people to change.

The Tea Party reminds me of Archie Bunker. These are people whose world view is threatened, and thus hearken back to 1950 (or a gauzy memory of what they think it was). Americans at the bottom are clearly getting poorer. Unfortunately, they have no idea who their real "enemy" is.

As the Tea partiers speak only English, they feel further threatened by those who speak any other language. The reality is that the USA has more Spanish speakers than Canada has French. (As if harassing poor Mexican immigrants, legal or otherwise, was going to improve the Tea partiers' lots in life.)

Tea partiers cling to their "Constitutional values" but generally have no idea what the document actually says or their specific Constitutional objections. They alternate between libertarian and authoritarian stands as suit their traditional prejudices. Norman Rockwell was the chief framer of their Constitution.  

Are these people influential? They nominated a senatorial candidate in Kentucky who thinks that lunch counters should be racially re-segregated. But even if they are politically influential in the USA, I believe the world dismisses them as the Luddites they really are. Ultimately, the world will leave these people in the dust. To the extent that the USA tries to impede social and economic progress it will be left in the dust as well.   Unfortunately, these people are ripe for the Hitlers of the world to exploit for personal gain.

Would the Tea Party exist if John McCain were President? Whether or not it was organized, the complaints of these folks would not change. Barack Obama as an "uppity Black Democrat" simply provides these people with an object for their hatred.  As it's politically unfashionable for them to air their true grievances with the man, Tea partiers prefer to label him a "socialist" instead.

There will always be ugliness in the world, but we are living in a time of great innovation. Just seeing the pictures of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel in Singapore (with the infinity pool 55 stories up) makes a mockery of those who try to turn back the clock.   So does outpatient gall bladder surgery!   True leadership is to repurpose these Tea partiers to a more constructive calling.