the morning after

you wake up in the morning, and you're a bit groggy. you don't exactly know what you did the night before because you were really drunk and at a certain point you blacked out. but you awake in the morning, head pounding, cautiously fearful that you may have done something wrong, but you're not sure. then you turn over and you see someone new lying in bed next to you. you start to panic a bit. who the heck is that? please don't let her be ugly, you think. then she slowly turns over and your heart jumps because she's who you wanted it to be. she's that hot chick from the bar that you saw and didn't think you had a chance with. but there she is, next to you, and it's better than you had hoped, because she remembers your name and wants another go at it. that's what the democrats must be feeling this morning after the election.

the democrats, and the world, awoke to a vastly changed political landscape in the united states. it appears the voters have voted with their hearts and minds as they drove the bums out of office. similar to the style of voting that went on during the last canadian election, where people voted as a reaction to the corruption and arrogance of the liberal party that had ruled for too long, the republican revolution has come to an end.

as of this morning, the democrats have won the house, and they are inches away from taking the senate as well, as they lead narrowly in two very hotly contested races in virginia and montana. the democrats may not necessarily win the senate when the votes are finally tallied, but they have another victory, in the form of the resignation of one donald rumsfeld.

donald rumsfeld, one of the architechs of the iraq war, who foolishly favored technology over troop deployment, who favored telling jokes instead of seriously addressing the needs of soldiers, who stubbornly held to his plan when it was clear it wan't working, at the cost of more american lives, has stepped down.

what this election shows is that people have had it with the republican abuse of power and general incompetence of the presidency. cases in point: 1) the president squandered the momentum of 9/11 when the whole world was behind the americans, willing to do what the americans wanted out of sympathy for what was a savage and brutal attack on u.s. home soil against three thousand innocents. the president squandered this good will, this global unity not seen since the creation of the united nations, by shunning the international community through their cowboy diplomacy. george w. bush had the chance to be a great president. to do some good in the world for the international community as well as his own people. instead, he messed it up as he would mess up everything else in the years to come.

2) iraq war: the iraq war was not a key battleground in the war on terror, but this administration has now made it one. a bogus war was created on bogus rational (remember those weapons of mass destruction? there weren't any. and we knew this because the united nations inspectors said so). and for what? to avenge a father's legacy? for the lucrative oil contracts? for the billions of dollars that it would create for war profiteering in general? the iraq war diverted much needed funds for the war in afghanistan, where the real battle against al-qaeda and terrorists was and still is. the iraq war also diverted attention and funds from domestic needs, which brings us to the next point.

3) "george bush doesn't care about black people." rapper kanye west said this during a live benefit for the victims of huricane katrina. this may or may not be true, and it just may be the ramblings of an emotional artist who himself is characterised as ego-centric and arrogant beyond belief. but the fact remains that this administration screwed up with katrina, and a year later, things aren't much better. the government is supposed to help you in times like this, not hurt you further. how can the bush administration protect america from enemies of the state, when it has become one itself through its own incompetence?

4) illegal wire tapping, the loss of habeas corpus, and the introduction of torture into the american every-day psyche. america has completely lost the right to call itself a haven for freedom and democracy. as bill maher once put it, america has become a south american junta, where people can now be dragged off the streets with no legal means to protect themselves or to prove their innocence against charges of terrorism.

5) the republican moral quagmire. you have so many republicans now being brought down on charges of corruption or sexual immorality, that it's starting to become a running joke. from people like jack abramoff to foley, the political graveyard is slowly being littered with the careers of formerly moral holier than thou political figures. if all of this corruption says anything, it's this: perhaps the republicans should talk less about other people's morality, and start looking inward at their own. people in glass houses, as they say, shouldn't throw stones.

once the dust is all settled and the political corpses are cleared, it seems the democrats will be hitting the ground running. house minority leader nancy pelosi, a congresswoman from the san francisco area, is set to become the new speaker and the highest-ranking elected woman in u.s. history. she has a six-point plan to lay before congress in its first week on the job in january that will see the introduction of a tough new anti-lobbying law, as well as proposals to raise the minimum wage, boost homeland security spending (including new border arrangements), introduce a variety of alternative fuel measures and reverse education cuts.

all in all, democrats now have an opportunity to really rein in the president and put him in his place, which hopefully, will be one that is more reasonable, and boxed in for the remaining two years of his presidency. this man has done so much damage to americans, and to the world, that he must be controlled. and hopefuly this election will also show that the american people have a second chance to get back what they've lost, which are the core values that used to make america so great. if they are really serious about regaining their dignity, dare i say it, the impeachment case has to be brought forward. but even if the democrats win both houses, i doubt this will be the case. it will probably be just enough to make sure that bush and his cronies will end their political careers with a whimper and not a bang.

(source 1) (source 2) (source 3)

***update***

it appears that the democrats have won the montana seat, and they are also declaring victory in virginia as well (although a recount is likely due to the very slim leading margin - approx 8000 votes, with 99 percent of precints reporting in).

(source 4)

***update 2***

the associated press is reporting that the democrats will take virginia, and as a result, will take the senate as well as the house. truly, this has been a political "thumping." now that the democrats have the house and the senate, all that remains is what they do with their newfound power. they'd better not screw it up.

(source 5)

***update 3***

rumsfeld acknowledged that progress in iraq has not been going "well enough or fast enough." no, rumsfeld, you are wrong again. reconstruction takes time, and people realize this. it's not about going fast enough, it's about the complete lack of a reconstruction plan for "phase two." it's about incompetence. it's about your administration not giving the troops the propper support they need, and letting the war profiteers take advantage of the situation. face it: you had no real concrete plan from the beginning.

(source 6)