Sorry Brutal, the Constitution is much more broken than it was 8 years ago, and yes, it is a big deal. And for your first 3 questions, the answer for many is "no".

The point about Obama winning and Dems taking a supermajority in congress is a good point though... our Government always functions best when there is massive gridlock, because our govt cannot do good on a fundamental level, period. Less is always more when it comes to the Federal Gov't.