It appears that the Democrats have gained control of both houses of Congress and picked up a few governorships. The electorate has collectively rebuked the President’s conduct of the war in Iraq, corruption in the GOP, fiscal irresponsibility and general hubris. In the process Lamont lost in Connecticut and Santorum lost in Pennsylvania, knocking off some of the more extreme candidates from both sides. I believe this to be a good thing for our country, both the rebuke of the current course and some migration to the center by both caucuses in Congress.
The President seems to acknowledge, somewhat petulantly, the need for bipartisanship in forging a working relationship with incoming Congressional leadership. I hope that this is more than the usual post-election pablum. There are serious issues that need to be dealt with by the federal government. I will however settle for gridlock as a better alternative to the last 6 years of runaway spending and outright stupidity in the war on the Constitution terrorism. Better they fight each other and do nothing substantive than to continue rubber stamping the whims of the White House in a disturbing display of blind “consequences be damned” partisanship.
While the Dem do have the reins in Congress, the narrow margin in the Senate allows the GOP to effectively filibuster bills they find truly objectionable. Hopefully this will force things towards the center which is, after all, where most Americans are. I think most people are sick of the atmosphere in Washington, the “my way or the highway” attitude of the executive and the slime that occasionally oozes into sight from under the doors of Congress. To Congress and the President: The people have spoken, now do your jobs damn it.
