Election Fallout

I have to dust off my old mantle today simply for the reason that watching the results come in have drained me and I need to say my own little piece on all of this. Aside from Allen losing, I called the election right down the line on the Virginia ballot I was given. Interestingly enough though, I DID call the recount.

Perhaps my power of pronostication aren't so bad after all.

With control of Congress now in the hands of the Democrats, some might say that we are going to enter into two years of gridlock when it comes to the government of this country. In some ways, it might be a good thing. It will certainly get a lot of people to ease up and relax more. In addition to this, President Bush is a lam duck president. By all rights, Congress can sit on their hands and do nothing for the next two years except keep the government running and there really isn't much Bush can do about it.

I don't think the Democrats are going to do that. I think they will do everything they can to try and show that their message of taking the country into a new direction is an accurate message. 1994's Contract for America worked pretty well for Republicans for a while, so maybe this will work for Democrats too. Only time will tell on that one.

Fact of the Matter

The fact of the matter is that now it is time for the Democrats to step up to the plate and show the nation what they can do. It will be an interesting two years, no doubt about that. Jeannemarie (sp) Davis had said that perhaps losing Congress might be the best thing for the party. A lot of other folks have said the same thing and in retrospect I am having to agree and feeling better about the election loss thinking of it in terms like that.

Republicans can look into their playbook and figure out what they need to do next. Perhaps this is something telling about a political party. A good decade run is good, but after that it can be overkill. Who knows, after two years, maybe the Republicans can storm back, but then again maybe they won't. It all depends on how the next two years work out.

I got to admit, there were a couple of great zingers for this election. One is from a man named John, a Webb supporter, who asked in referrring to voter turnout, "Who said that man in the White House wasn't a uniter?"

But now that the mideterms are over, it is time to go for primary season. So lets get some odds going. Top five picks for Democrat and Republican nominees for the presidency:

Democrats
1. Hillary Clinton
2. Al Gore
3. Barak Obama
4. Joseph Lieberman
5. Bill Richardson

Republicans
1. John McCain
2. Rudy Guiliani
3. JEB Bush
4. Newt Gingrich
5. Michael Steele