State of the Nation

It is November 9. The elections are over, and after Republican control of the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the Presidency, major changes have been applied to two of the three. The American people, speaking as best they could, with one flick of the pen or the push of a button, switched power from one political party to the other.

Democrats, in an incredible election, now control BOTH congressional houses and only the Presidency is beyond their control - for the moment. This is remarkable. With one election, the American people took the power from the Republicans and handed it over to the Democrats.

And I don't think it was because people particularly like the Dems. Bush had been politically frozen from doing what needed to be done in Iraq; nothing was happening, and American soldiers were dying. He HAD to be prepared to accept civilian casualties as the cost of completely eliminating the insurgency; and yet, the MEDIA's power had grown so much that they had literally frozen him. He wasn't going to withdraw; he wasn't going to crush the insurgents either for fear of incurring civilian casualties and seeing them that same night on CNN.

This is perhaps the most incredible element of this whole debacle. The media, as a political force, has grown so much that it now influences PRESIDENTS as to their actions. The media sets the agenda. The media demonizes and at the same time glorifies who they wish. The media has no police, no watchdog to discipline them. They are the 600-pound elephant set loose on the playground. They couldn't get Bush to withdraw, but they could focus so much attention on EVERY SINGLE CASUALTY of the war that Bush wouldn't have the confidence to OK the necessary operations in Iraq.

And so this is how it ends. The media froze Bush, the situation in Iraq grew into a stalemate, soldiers started dying, and the American people started realizing that Bush wasn't aggressively pursuing victory. And they decided. Better the soldiers live and withdraw, than die and stay. The intent was good, the resolve weak. And so they took his power away.

And yet the consequences will be far-reaching. As a result of this, yes, Bush will most likely be forced to abandon Iraq, but the Democrats will now also utilize their power. Impeachment hearings will most likely begin, and the Democrats will begin to implement their Socialist agenda as much as they can. Perhaps the most dangerous consequence of this election is the impact it will have on our national security. Other countries, especially renegade nations, now see a weak and divided superpower. They will become more provocative, more aggressive and begin to prod and test the United States. How we will respond is already written; look to the Carter years, the Clinton years. Bush is the last vanguard. But even he can't last forever. The people shouldn't have been so shortsighted.