A Wave of Change

The Democrats have won! We have taken back Congress, both houses! CNN.com election results are not complete yet, so I will update the numbers below when seats are fully decided, but there is plenty to celebrate about already.

In the House of Representatives, we won 19 seats from republican incumbents, and we lost none of our seats. There were 30 open seats, 22 of which we took. The total of seats is 228 Democrats, 196 Republicans, and 0 Independents (the one independent in the House, Bernie Sanders, moved to the Senate). There are 11 seats undecided at this point.

In the Senate, we won 6 seats from incumbents, and we lost none. There were 4 open seats; we won those 3-1. The existing independent was replaced with another, and Joe Lieberman left the Democratic party to become an independent. Therefore, the total of seats is 49 Democrats, 49 Republicans, and 2 Independents. Although VA-SEN is very close and will likely be recounted, I am assuming Jim Webb has won with a 10,000 vote margin. MT-SEN is also over. The vote count is close, but it will not change much, as there are not enough votes to count for Burns to hold his seat. Jon Tester is also in. Note: The CNN.com link has no independents listed in the Senate. My numbers reflect the reality.

On the wings of change, Donald Rumsfeld, Bush's Secretary of Defense from the beginning, is going to resign. Robert Gates, a former CIA chief, will be nominated in his place. Gates is a decent replacement given his association with the professional intelligence community under Scowcroft and Baker. He is also working on the Baker-Hamilton commission on Iraq.

Did President Bush get the message? Republicans, by Bush's own admission, were "thumped". In Bush's lame duck speech, he announced that he would replace Rumsfeld right after congratulating the Democrats on their gains. He seemed almost humble, joking personably; I laughed at a couple of his jokes. It is easy to gain some respect with a concession speech. The gift-wrapped replacement of Rumsfeld is a figleaf. Will Bush really backseat Cheney?

Let us look at those election numbers again. The only place where Republicans beat Democrats were districts where Republicans were incumbents or there was an open seat. No Democratic incumbents were unseated in either the House or the Senate. In open races, we won with a 3 to 1 ratio in both houses. Given the corruption and the dire situation in Iraq, given the lack of trust for an administration that has nothing but slander to offer in the way of strategy, voters spoke clearly and succinctly in replacing Republicans across the country.

The wave of change has washed many new leaders into place. Can government by reality over ideology return now?