06 Rundown

As a moderate/independent the Karl Rove strategy of screwing the middle and pumping up the conservative base over the last six years has deeply angered me.

Also as a moderate/independent I think government tends to work best when one party controls the executive and another the legislative---e.g. later Reagan/Bush I, later Clinton years.

Outisde of a check, power agglomerates and that power brings corruption.

So in that sense I'm more or less pleased with the results of the election, as I was in 94--again one party controlling Executive and Congress is bad news.

Not that I'm necessarily a big fan of the House Democrats. I'd rather see Rahm Emanuel as Speaker than Nancy Pelosi, but that's not going to happen. And the Senate Dems I think can start finally chartering a different foreign policy--robust yet willing to criticize. People like Sens. Jack Reed (D-RI), Joe Biden, Carl Levin (MI), Jim Webb.

I think this balance forces parties to compromise and to hold more or less to the center, to prod and test slowly--the genius of the American system I think. One reason we have never had a far left or far right take over of the government; one constitution only for 200+ years.

Rumsfield is gone, and my sense has been that Cheney is a little more isolated. I think Condi may actually be more isolated and figurehead-ish these days than appears in public. UN Amb. John Bolton--a Cheney advocate--has not been nominated. There has been word that the Executive is seeking a signing-statement like end around bypassing the whole Senatorial oversight function, appointing Bolton as Dept. Amb., changing his title, another recess appointment, etc.

If this does occur that will sour any possibility that this election will force deal-making between the two parties and shows that Bush, again, does not really have much respect for the Congress. I'm not an advocate of massive investigations, subpoenas, and all the rest. But if Bush tries this kind of mularky--particularly since as Biden said on ThisWeek yesterday Bush has plenty of highly qualified people whom a Dem. Senate would ratify quickly and easily--then the Dems should start pushing back on Bush and really tighten the screws.