The economy and the '08 election

[tolbiny]

With the subprime mess and devaluing of the dollar a struggling economy appears inevitable to a lot of people. If certain things come to pass (rising UE, weakening dollar, lack of confidence) which candidates are best positioned to alter their campaign direction and start harping on the economy and what they will do to fix it? What types of candidates are traditionally turned to in times of recession, could this be the republican's chance to continue control of the whitehouse?