Big Changes

Tuesday was a very big day as the Democrats won control of the Senate and the House of Representatives for the first time since 1994. I won't lie, I'm pretty excited about this development. I like the way David Brooks summarized the implications of the election saying it was a victory for moderates and centrists. Pres. Bush has been in power for 6 years and has had a Republican congress to go along with whatever he wants. The American system is designed so that the three branches provide checks and balances on each other, making it difficult for any one person to get too much power, and it will be refreshing to have some balance back. I'm so glad that so many Americans saw that Pres. Bush has led us on a wrong path in Iraq, federal spending, health care and stem cell research. A Democrat congress will require all sides to work together and will lead to more intelligent legislation. I'm also excited that Charles Rangel, the man I interned for over the summer, will become Chair of the very powerful House Ways and Means Committee and that Harry Reid, who I met in January, will become Senate Majority Leader. I'm kind of proud that the person with the highest elected office in the country (outside the executive branch) is a Mormon and democrat. He's a great example that Democrats can be principled and Christian. Now that he and Nancy Pelosi (first female Speaker of the House) will soon be in power, the pressure is on them to live up their word. I'm very happy to hear that their first initiative will be to limit the power lobbyists have to influence legislation. The other side of the fact that the election is over is that it's basically the unofficial start of the 2008 Presidential Campaign. Already, Governor Thomas Vilsack of Iowa has announced he's running for President, and Senator John McCain of Arizona has set up an official exploratory committee about whether he could win.