11 November 2006, 13:16

U.S. Election November 2006 - A sea-change

Filed under:short-cuts, first-person by julie T

What happened in my country last week? The American public voted decisively for change. And their anger seems directed at the Republican party, more than at the Iraq War or President Bush. This suggests a general feeling of malaise, that things aren’t going as they ought, but nothing specific. No Democratic incumbent lost, whether they voted for the Iraq War, ran in Hurricane Katrina-affected districts, or had political baggage of their own.

And kibbosh on the notion that ’ they shoulda won more’ – this was the most number of seats lost by a sixth-year president since Eisenhower. Most importantly, they won back both houses despite having significantly less support from the moneymen. (Notwithstanding any defections.) Previous Democratic National Chair Terry McAuliffe was esteemed as a fund-raiser, but couldn’t failed when it came to the only metric that really counts – winning elections.

Yet, Americans don’t seem particularly mad at President Bush.


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