Looking Out My Back Door

We Showed Them!

Every single vote counts. This was certainly proved on Tuesday, Election Day, which saw the Democrats take over both the House and Senate. The Senate status wasn't determined until today because the last two races being tallied were close. Darn close. Nevertheless, in Virginia, Webb beat "Macaca" Allen, which gave me great pleasure. In Missouri, I think some credit must be given to Michael J. Fox's stem cell research ads, which helped his candidate beat the Neanderthal incumbent. (Incidentally, I understand that the St. Louis Cardinals' ace pitcher filmed a rebuttal commercial against stem cell research, which ran during the World Series. Though he's a good pitcher, I hope my beloved Yankees don't try to buy this player, as -- like Curt Schilling - his views are contrary to those of people searching for advancement in medical research and cures for disease.)

At any rate, I was also impressed while watching my tape of "The View" yesterday, where the mostly-Democratic panelists were trying not to crow too viciously, as the youngest panelist, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, is a conservative Republican. For once, I say kudos to Elisabeth, who kept her mouth shut about the election results in general but gave props to Nancy Pelosi and her ascension to Speaker of the House, which she called a big win/step for women, rightly so. Like her or not, Pelosi is now the most powerful woman in the country, second in line to the presidency (after the vice president).

I think those of us who voted clearly showed the current administration how pissed off we are about the situation in Iraq. To his credit, Bush finally fired Defense Secretary Rumsfeld in response to the nation's dissatisfaction. A few more heads must roll, and a clear exit from Iraq must be determined before we're on our way to being satisfied. How many more Americans must die in someone else's civil war before we wise up and get the hell out? How much must our worldwide approval rating decrease before we start earning back the respect we should have maintained all along? There are a lot of things that need fixing, but the message has finally been delivered. Let's hope it works.

posted by Hopster @ 11:48 AM