A good night for the Democrats
Corazine was to be expected in New Jersey, and Democrat-in-all-but-name Bloomberg was a given in New York City. But Tim Kaine's victory over Jerry Kilgore in red state Virginia is a real blow to Republican expectations for next year's midterm elections.
Of course, two-term presidents usually face a severe dip in popularity at this point in their administrations, and scandals- even manufactured ones like the Bush Administration is facing at the moment- don't help. Asking the American people to have the patience to do what is right even though it hurts in Iraq doesn't help the President politically, either.
I suspect that after DeLay is no longer in the news, Scooter Libby is inevitably acquitted, and the inuendo in the media about Karl Rove consequently dies down, things will look up a bit for the GOP. And grumble as they might, Americans generally don't shirk their responsibilities to freedom, civilization and history on the battlefield- especially when (the media to the contrary) the costs in Iraq have been far smaller than we faced, for example, in Vietnam, or in most wars we've fought.
It's a moment for sobriety- but also a moment for perspective.
Comments
Though Ohioans seem to have bought into the "jobs" argument about Issue 1 without considering the consequences of loaning our tax money to private companies for research.
I don't know if you've heard about the mayoral race in St. Paul - R.T. Rybek (democrat who endorses Bush) lost to newcomer Coleman. By all accounts, St. Paul was being handled very well and no one had any complaints, but it was strongly suggested by many this morning that the "people" were sending a message to Rybek that they don't like Bush. The implication, to me, would be that these voters hate Bush so much that they were willing to throw out a perfectly good and liked mayor merely to send a "signal". What reasonable person would do such a thing? btw, voter turnout was low.
doesn't surprise me a bit. A public official in the Hate Bush Zone who does anything but foam at the mouth where Bush is concerned would figure to be the target of the same rage aimed at the President, whatever his acknowledged virtues may be. As you say, these folks, by and large, aren't terribly rational on the subject.
A must-read local summary: http://www.fraterslibertas.com/2005_11_01_archive.html#113167817929805618