Even with a GOP Congress, it'll be hard for President Romney to get legislation through

Perhaps worst for Romney, the government will hit the debt ceiling again early next year. During the primaries, he pledged not to raise it unless Congress passes a constitutional amendment to limit federal spending to 18 percent of the economy. That would take a two-thirds vote by the House and the Senate. It’s not going to happen.

A Romney presidency, in other words, would have to start with his breaking a promise to conservatives.

He would have to get Republican congressmen to break their own promises, too, because many of them made the same pledge he did. And he wouldn’t be able to rely on Democratic votes to raise the debt ceiling. Especially if Republicans have just taken the Senate, Democrats will probably do what minority parties usually do: let the majority take the heat for an unpopular but necessary step. Since any Republican majority in the Senate is likely to be narrow, Romney won’t have votes to spare.