Interesting Events

Last night's election was a real eye opener to those on Capitol Hill who arrogantly assumed that the average voter could be scared out of their outrage at the way things are going and scared into voting Republican.

They were wrong. As it now stands the House is firmly in the hands of Democrats even with nine races still outstanding. Of those, one will probably go Republican, three Democrat, and four are just too close to call. One, Louisiana, had so many candidates that it will require a runoff. That one will probably go Democratic as well.

Senate control hovers on a knifeblade. One seat in Virginia which is now undergoing a recount and which is leaning Democratic. If that one tips Democratic, Democrats will control all the chairmanships in the Senate.

What I found more interesting is the reactions from all concerned. Bush is clearly furious and confused. His press conference was all but painful to watch. He accepted Rumsfeld's resignation, which is a good thing, but proved he lied last week when he said he would keep the man until the end of his term. He is now talking concilliation and cooperation, but it's clear that neither appeal to him very much. I believe he has gotten the message but that he got it from his own party.

John McCain just held a news conference, and he's clearly speaking for the majority of Republicans at the moment when he says the war must take a new direction, and that if that means more troops to quell the insurgency and the militias then that is what it will mean. He also pointed out that 19 of the seats that changed hands in the House yesterday did so because of corruption and other scandals. He says he believes Republicans have got to get their act together and return to the basics of Republican philosophy which includes reduced spending, less government, and other core principles. He's clearly chastened and scared for the Senate as well.

Perhaps more surprising though is the tone of the Democrats. It's as if they realize that if they get cocky and stupid then they are in major trouble. They have only two years to pull this all together and make it work. That's not a long time.

It may be enough, however, if they realize that Republicans can only be just so obstructionist without further infuriating voters who are sick of the lot of them at the moment. This is the message I hoped voters would send in this election. Shape up, get back to the people's business, or else. Let's hope it sticks well enough to produce results. Politicians have notoriously short memories.