John's Blog

This view of midterm elections as explained by The Daily Show. This year was a bit more significant than most with it becoming a de facto referendum on the Bush administration.

Although several Senate races are still undecided, the outcome of the House races have clearly tipped the scales in favor of the Democrats. But now the real work begins. This winds up being less a Democratic victory, and more a rejection of the current flawed Republican direction. But a narrow victory is better than no victory at all.

With the possibility of Congressional oversight restored, the long overdue process of democracy can begin again. If the Democrats proceed with a positive, proactive direction and don't get mired in obstructionism we have an opportunity to begin to change course on a variety of issues that have been brushed under the rug for the last few years. How successfully they articulate and execute their agenda and deny the neo-cons the opportunity to define the message will set the stage for the battle in '08.

Changing course in Iraq is their first priority, but there are many other issues from the economy to the environment that need a fresh approach. Let's hope that we see these added to the legislative agenda, without getting too focused on the next election that it results in a timid stance that produces "more of the same".

Tags: politics