The times they are a changin'

So - its done and dusted. The Democrats have both houses of Congress. I was listening to a U.S. Political analyst this morning, who made some interesting points about the current Washington landscape. In the U.S. (unlike Australia), political parties are more loosely aligned, and do not have the lock-step discipline associated with our political system. However, over the last 6 years, Karl Rove (advisor to Bush) has taken the Republicans from a centre-right alliance to a disciplined right-wing party. Concurrently, the Democrats have retained the traditional center-left alliance (admitted, "left" in the US is very different from what we would consider to be "left"). What this means is that whilst the Republicans could present a stronger, more organised and united front (which probably helped them in the last two elections), they have also narrowed their constituency. When things go bad, and people begin to look for alternatives, the Democrats have better been able to tailor their messages for individual electorates and can thus appeal to a wider group. For example, they fielded religious conservatives in the South and Mid-West, whilst keeping liberals in the northern and eastern states.

The upshot of this, however, is that they have no strong coherent policy on Iraq. This may yet undo their winnings, as with control of both houses, there will be much more responsibility for decisions put upon them. This election was more a backlash against the Republicans, not just on Iraq, but scandals and corruption may have also kept some supporters at home (voting, of course, is not compulsory). It remains to be seen if this win will significant change the outcome of Iraq. I don't believe it will, because they really have no wriggle-room in the foreign policy mess created by Bush and his brains.

What will also be interesting, is if this Democratic win has used up all the anti-Bush/anti-Republican sentiment, thus actually making it more difficult to win the next Presidential election. Having said that, if the scuttlebut is to be believed, its shaping up to be a contest between Sen. Caine (Republican) and Sen. Clinton (Democrat). Whistl I think a Clinton win would be better, and have a sense of poetry (Bush, Clinton, Bush, Clinton), I have much respect for Caine, as he argued strongly against the execution of the war, and the use of torture. Either way, I think the U.S and the world will be in much better hands.