I think they may continue to try to stop it..... or, time to break out the 'ole standbys..... starving children, throwing old people down the stairs, and general class warfare tactics...
My parents came of age just when the depression hit. They have literally lost millions of dollars over their lifetime by refusing to invest in the stock market.
After WWII it took thirty years to elect a dove, Jimmy Carter. Vietnam, of course, caused a blip in voting patterns, but not a sea change.
911 is in fact, not as destructive as either the depression or WWII, but it is the first major attack on an American city, and it brought with it the promise of further attacks. Politocs will not allow anything like a dove or dove party to assume power until the threat is gone.