1. Economic recovery will be far better than anyone believes. When all the pundits say everything's great, that's usually a sign of imminent collapse. When those same pundits say we're all fucked? Do the math. So-called "experts" are idiots, which is the best sign yet for better times ahead.
2. The fallout from the Christmas underwear bombing attempt/terrorist attack will have far-reaching repercussions in America...but public distaste for police-state tactics and the Democrats' tactical reasons not to want to adopt the methods of the Bush regime will mean most of this will be directed at American Muslims, particularly of Middle Eastern extraction---racism will become a real problem, more so than it is already.
3. Speaking of racism, the economic recovery alluded to in item #1 will exacerbate the rich-poor divide, particularly between white America and Hispanic immigrants, who will consolidate a position as second-class citizens doing the gardening and other scut work. Times will be better, but the "established elite" will retrench, particularly thanks to the efforts of right-wing pundits like Glenn "Diversity is a disease" Beck. It'll be ugly.
4. Republicans will take back control of Congress with an aggressive campaign against President Obama and the Pelosi/Reid combo in the legislature. Health care reform and the deficit will create a political sinkhole; on the bright side, if the Clinton administration's a good historical precedent, this will touch off an economic boom. When the government is gridlocked, they can't fuck up the country because they can't get any of their stupid projects passed.
5. Message boards will be wracked with fanboy arguments over which game is Game of the Year. Mass Effect 2, Fallout: New Vegas, Starcraft 2, Napoleon: Total War, and others will make 2010 a very strong candidate to unseat 2004 (GTA:SA, MGS3, WoW, Rome: TW, the original Katamari Damacy, among many others) as the greatest year in gaming history.