Not gonna gloat. Nope.
But I am really, really happy to see Santorum gone, and Granholm back in charge. LIke, kermit-arms happy.
And Blackwell's gone from neighbor-state Ohio, and it looks as though Virginians had the sense to boot George "Macaca" Allen. On the other hand, I'll definitely miss Lincoln Chaffee. I'm wondering if we could trade him in for someone. Orrin Hatch, maybe? Hell, most days I'd trade Linc for Ted Kennedy. I'd definitely trade him for Debbie Stabenow. There are a few races that didn't go as well as I'd hoped, like Ford's in Tennessee, but this election was way more than baby steps.
And Nancy Pelosi? Two heartbeats away from the presidency. Welcome, Madame Speaker.
I am giddy with the possiblities, but I will reserve judgement for the first two years. These new folks will have to prove themselves; just because they're Democrats doesn't give them a free ride in my book. They better lead, and lead well, because the hope -- and frankly, the reputation -- of our country rests squarely on their shoulders.
Get to steppin', Congress.
I'm positively bouncy today! It's so nice to not wake up the day after an election feeling depressed and angry.
Dems won the House and have probably captured the Senate as well (pending recounts). Rumsfield's gone. Nationwide, Democratic governors swept out Republicans in several races. In local politics, my state Senate district (which encompasses some of the most conservative voters in the state) torpedoed our fatcat Republican incumbent and elected a Democratic newcomer in a landslide. Across town, the same thing happened in a House race, bringing Fairbanks's state legislative delegation to near-parity between Dems and Reps (which is especially interesting because we're traditionally a very conservative town). On top of that, Alaska has its first-ever female governor -- alas, she's a conservative Republican, but you can't have everything ... and in its own way, that's cool too, because of what it implies about gender relations in this day and age: obviously she's capable of drawing out the conservative and redneck vote despite her gender. (And in all honesty, I like her. I didn't vote for her, but she's a maverick and I think she'll do well.)