Voting rocks.

I must say that I've been downright giddy all morning about the election returns and oodles of good news that we've been getting.

Democrats taking the House? Check.
Democrats gaining 5 Senate seats? Check.
Rumsfeld resigning? Totally unexpected, but completely awesome.
South Dakota shooting down abortion ban? Check.
Bush accepting responsiblity for once? Check.

In Oregon:
Kulongoski's re-election? Check.
Parental notification shot down? Check.
Minnis potentially losing her seat and position? Watching the polls intently.

Overall, I think there is a feeling of a sea change about the whole thing. I'm hesitant to use the word "mandate," because I think that the Republicans stripped it of meaning a couple of years ago when Bush won the second time. It wasn't a mandate. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but I have a hard time beliving it was an honest win. It was a scrape-by, if that.

I'm glad that the American people decided that they needed to send a message to the president and I'm glad that he got it. I'm glad the war was a key aspect of the voting and I'm glad that things are getting shaken up. I'm sorry to see some people like Lincoln Chaffee lose their seats, but that's the price of democracy. Yes, those were Republicans who were amenable to the Democratic position, but the problem is that they were still allowing the balance of power to be skewed to the Republicans. Yes, it will be tough to get things done, but that's why we have checks and balances. It's going to be interesting to see what the Democrats do with the power they've just acquired. I'm excited and I hope that things continue to change in a positive direction.

Quote of the Day: "I recognize that many Americans voted last night to register their displeasure with the lack of progress being made in Iraq." George W. Bush. No shit, Sherlock.