I was wrong

[question everything]

I've had several posts where I called on our candidates to concentrate on economic issues, reasoning that by the time the elections came, the war in Iraq would be irrelevant.

I was certain that Rove and company would make sure that our troops were out of Iraq well before the elections to neutralize it being an issue.

I was wrong. The war has escalated. And while we continued to count the American casualties, the Iraqis appear determined to completely destroy any semblance to a state.

Like many, I wanted us to present an agenda besides pointing the disaster that the Republicans have been. But it appears that the war in Iraq and the corruption in Washington were enough to turn the majority of voters in our direction.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

1. That's quite true, but...

in order to remain in power, the Democrats will have to demonstrate that they can improve people's lives, and this is where the economic issues will come in.

I've long believed that making people feel economically secure will decrease the attraction of the bigots who thrive by appealing to other people's prejudices. I believe that the African-American civil rights movement succeeded because it occurred at a time when standards of living were rising for all social classes, so people were in a more generous mood than they might have been at other times.

[On the Road]

2. Normally, Foreign Policy Doesn't Swing National Elections

and Iraq was only one of many factors in this election. Corruption, sex scandals, competence, racism, hypocisy, fiscal responsibility -- these all combined to form a perfect wave.

I think if Bush could have found a way to make Iraq irrelevant, he would have. Maybe it can be done, but Bush can't do it.