Well, the results are final except for Virginia which hopefully promises to be less controversial than the last couple of recount fiascos. Yes, a signal was made that many Americans are at the least upset with the war and dissatisfied with Bush and furious about his handling of Iraq. But, is this represent unequivocal support for democrats and their "vision", me thinks no, at least not yet.

It was a nasty election cycle even for US politics and I'm happy to see that it is over. Now the challenge comes for Democrats to push for enlightened action and policy. There is quite a lot of fractioning inside the party and it is imperative that the Dems develop a cohesive strategy in the next year if this is going to carry through to '08. I hope they will play the role of the big man and not enact revenge on the Republicans as both parties have been guilty of in the past after a change in power. This does not mean that the Dems pledge for accountability should be forgotten or that some subpeonas and possibly indictments might be called, but let's not screw this up folks. You hold the reigns but don't ram the damn carriage into a wall in all your excitement.

Lets lay out firm goals for Iraq within a reasonable time, call it a timetable or whatever other synonym you want but lets let the people know what to expect from this mess and how we're going to address it. Lets get back to that fragile economy and honestly deal with increasing the minimum wage and meaningful job growth. Lets face those twin elephants in the room that everyone is ignoring and find a way to address medical care and education. Lets push through legislation that requires a real reduction on fossil fuel dependence. Taxes? So be it if their targeted correctly, how about wastefulness gas tax on all purchased vehicles that are in the lower 40% of fuel consumption. How about we put a 30% premium on them?

Will Lieberman consider coming back to the Democratic fold? I have to admit, I was pushing for Lamont but I'm willing to welcome him back with hands outstretched not only for that critical edge as the majority but also for his experience. He'll probably continue as an independent and I don't begrudge him that (feeling betrayed by his party) but if he wants to come back by all means let him.

Too much to write about and I need to get to work. Let's give it a few days to let the rhetoric and excitement settle and make sure the Dems get Virginia.