The election was undoubtedly a Democratic landslide. Downplayers have been claiming a second term president's party always suffers substantial losses. Actually, during Bill Clinton's second term, Democrats held all over their Senate seats and gained five seats in the House. The last second term election before that would've been in '88, but so much has changed -- incumbency advantage has increased dramatically, underlying partisan advantage has increased, redistricting has tightened the states' majority party control or simply worked in favor of the incumbents. A tiny minority of districts are competative at all. Through various mechanisms, like-minded voters have been packed into districts together, solidifying one party control. I think it's actually impressive that Democrats were able to win 30 seats out of the 50 or 60 that could be classified competetive out of 435.
That said, I'm not sure why voters voted as they did aside from what the exit polls revealed: dissatisfaction with Iraq and corruption in government. I think people understand Bush has failed in Iraq but they don't think Democrats have a plan for Iraq. This can be interpreted a couple of different ways -- a plan for victory? Or a plan, period? It's pretty clear there's a general plan -- establish benchmarks and begin a phased withdrawal, leaving responsibility in the hands of the Iraqi government. Regardless, voters aren't enamored with the Democratic leadership on this issue.
I'm thinking the other explanation for the Democratic landslide is just the obvious failure of Republican leadership. They've had six years of unchecked power and have failed on every imaginable meaningful issue. I guess everybody's definition of failure is different, but a massive federal budget deficit, 2,800+ dead U.S. soldiers in Iraq, rising health care costs, widening of the gap between rich and poor, and attempts to dismantle popular government entitlement programs -- ie: Social Security just can't bode well for any political party.
I'm feeling confident that the Democratic Party can restore people's faith in government in the next two years. As Democrats move to pass popular, much needed legislation like a raise in the minimum wage, federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, lowering prescription drug prices, etc. Americans will get a taste of Democratic ideas. If Republicans think this next session will be a do-nothing Congress, it will only be because Bush vetoes popular legislation sponsored by Democrats. The ideas will be plainly visible for everyone to see. Bush & the Republicans standing in the way of this progress will not work in their favor in '08.
Thoughts on the Election
