2011 was definitely not all that great a year. The national scene was dominated by the still-sputtering and unrecovered economy and by politics that should have, but didn’t, embarrass all those involved in it.

We learned in this past year that what happens in Greece doesn’t necessarily stay in Greece, but impacts the U.S. economy as well. We also had clear evidence that neither economists nor politicians have any sure answers as to how to deal with high unemployment in an age where the old assumptions no longer seem applicable. And, perhaps most painful of all, we are discovering that our domination of the world economy, which many have taken as a national entitlement, is seriously in jeopardy.

The inability of our political system to deal with major challenges, including the economy, is an even more serious long-term problem. Observers have had a field day trying to come up with the most apt metaphors for the train wreck that is Congress, and the public has clearly concluded that the members of that once-august institution have lost any claim to respect. Posturing, finger-pointing, stunning reversals of position and mindless opposition to anything that President Obama favors have taken the place of any serious efforts at policymaking.

Given that 2012 is an election year, the prospect for even more dysfunctional politics in the year ahead seems very real. And, of course, we are witnessing in this year’s Republican presidential nominating process the first one that has its own theme song: “Send in the Clowns.”

The state of the economy has been the single most important factor in the condition of Maryland during this past year. Unemployment, lower than the national average, is still high compared with what we are used to. And the likelihood of significant federal budget cuts runs the risk of further damaging an economy that for so long has seemed immune to the down cycles that impact most states.

On the whole, however, politics in Maryland, with one major exception, have been relatively normal. Gov. O’Malley, using the considerable constitutional powers given to him, has worked with the large Democratic majorities in the General Assembly to try to preserve government programs in the face of severe budget pressures. The year 2012 looks like it will have a more ambitious legislative policy agenda, even as the fiscal strains are largely unabated.

And as is usually the case, the Republican Party in Maryland has been largely irrelevant. Republican legislative leaders provided pro forma and predictable responses to Democratic initiatives without offering serious alternatives. The most interesting development on the Republican side this past year was the decision of Senate Minority Leader Allan Kittleman to resign his leadership position and to come out in support of the marriage equality bill.

The sharpest deviation from political normalcy in 2011 were the three high-profile trials involving major political figures. Just as some states have taken comfort in pointing out that their education statistics were better than Mississippi’s, we can take solace in the fact that four recent Illinois governors have been sent to jail. Other than that comparison, however, the three trials did not show Maryland at its best.

All three showed incredibly disturbing aspects of political life in Maryland, even if you can’t really generalize from any of them individually. Jack Johnson, the former Prince George’s county executive, engaged in a sustained and systematic program of selling government approvals to enrich himself. What’s most depressing about the Johnson case is that he was re-elected in 2006 and served eight years. His corruption makes that of former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich seem almost petty by comparison.

State Sen. Ulysses Currie was acquitted of the charges brought against him using a defense that ended up demeaning both him and the state Senate. If the criteria for being chosen to head the most powerful committee in the state legislature include being disorganized and not very smart, we’re in more trouble than many of us had thought. The only catch is that you would not use those adjectives to describe most other committee chairs.

The last trial, over the infamous robo-calls sent on Election Day by the Ehrlich campaign, also provoked serious head-scratching. The calls themselves had no chance of being successful, and you almost wonder why the “Currie defense” wasn’t used in that trial as well. We may know more after the robo-call, Part 2, trial of Julius Henson is concluded.

Some have argued a free speech defense of the robo-calls. Whether you accept that argument or not, the idea that someone would deliberately try to disenfranchise voters should outrage people of all political philosophies.

It would be terrific if we could look ahead and say with confidence that 2012 looks like a much more promising year. Sadly, the early signs are not encouraging.

Laslo Boyd does consulting in higher education, public policy and politics. His email address is lvboyd@gmail.com.