I'M GLAD I WAS WRONG

Prior to this mid-term election, i consistently stated that i did not believe that the Democrats would successfully overcome the power of incumbency. I was wrong, and i'm glad of it. In large measure, the Republicans melted down in the last two months before the election, but it now appears that the Democrats might have gotten a bare majority on the basis of the war and the Shrub even without the Repubican meltdown. I think that the outrageous scandals and the charge of corruption have helped the Democrats to be more successful than they might otherwise have been.

However, they now find themselves in an uneviable position. Newt Gingrich has said the Miss Pelosi needed only to run on a slogan of "Had enough?" which is basically what his message was in 1994 when the Republicans captured the House. But as he, and many other pundits have pointed out, the Democrats will now have to deliver, whereas previously they were only obliged to point out Republican faults, and could luxuriate in their powerlessness while playing the "I told you so" game.

Now they have to deliver on their campaign promises, and there is going to be Hell to pay if they don't deliver at least some of the pie in the sky which politicians traditionally promise. Very likely, they will be able to pass their social security reform, because no politician ever wants to be seen as opposing the wishes of the strongest, most reliable voting block in the electorate. Very likely, they will succeed in ending subsidies to oil companies, because the oil companies get little sympathy among the electorate. They might pass a minimum wage bill (which i think is long overdue), but the Shrub can veto such a measure with much less fear of negative consequence for the Republicans (being a lame duck, however, doesn't mean he can completely ignore the worries of his party).

Iraq will be the biggest problem the Democrats have to deal with. Barak Obama has said there there are no good options for dealing with Iraq, only bad options and worse options. This likely will be the make or break issue for the future prospects of Democrats, and it will likely still be a powerful issue in 2008.

What are your thoughts on what the Democrats must do now?