It's Not Over Yet!

Dear Reader,

A short note on the elections yesterday.

Despite the Democratic victories (hence, my BLUE typeface), it's not over yet. At this point in the AM, 3:55 EST, the House has been decided, but the Senate is still a toss-up and might remain Republican. Even if it doesn't, it could end up as a tied body, in which case Cheney will revel in the role of tie-breaker.

And don't discount Bush's bully pulpit. Even as a lame duck, low-approval-rating president, he is still president (unless the congress can impeach him and get him out of office), and still has the power of the Executive branch of government behind him. This allows him a lot of leeway, and a lot of power which he can continue to misuse.

So, don't go all out in your celebrations. There is still a long way to go, and much work to do, to get back our Constitutional government and many of the civil rights that have been encroached upon by this administration. And we have to keep up the work to maintain the rights we have. A House of Representatives majority doesn't mean a complete victory; just a partial one, which could simply end up as a morass if the Senate remains Republican.

There are still two years until the next presidential election, and who knows what will happen in the interim. The US engages in a "police action" in Iran; North Korean nuclear attack on the South or Japan; wholesale collapse in Iraq; Bush senior dies and it leads to a huge wave of Republican sympathy, allowing Jeb to be elected President? Oh, now I won't be able to go to sleep!

Dream on,
Catbird