What Voters Really Want
What we're hearing from both sides now is that they're going to work together. Sorry, that's just not credible. The Democrats' victories in the House and Senate confer on them something considerably less than complete power and certainly nothing like a mandate to govern, since they never sought one in the first place. Many harbor a visceral hatred of George Bush, and key committees will be in the thrall of left-wing extremists. Just because voters may be fed up with George Bush doesn't mean that they want George McGovern. As for President Bush, his post-election press conference failed to strike a convincing note of reconciliation and accommodation. After the pro forma words of bipartisanship, he seemed as uncompromising as ever.
Americans don't want this. They want less politics, more governance, less jawboning, more straight talk.
There's an old gag about the difference between an optimist and a pessimist. An optimist thinks this is the best of all possible worlds; a pessimist fears he may be right. Who can be optimistic that we will have anything but an increasingly bitter and partisan Congress? Both parties need to remember the adage "You don't drown by falling in the water; you drown by staying there."
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