A river of tears connected the dots among the blue states when John Kerry conceded to President Bush last Wednesday afternoon. Not only had Bush won, but the Republicans had padded their congressional majorities. Even before that, when White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card informally declared Bush the winner, Card said the election was a strong endorsement of President Bush by his fellow Americans in the popular vote
which went along with a convincing Electoral College victory. Democrats need not cry for much longer, though, and must instead become what they too often were not during Bush's first term -a true underdog opposition party.
Contrary to popular belief, newly-reelected President Bush does not really have a true mandate of power. While the Republicans talk about how the president got the highest vote total in the history of presidential elections, he received more votes against him than any winner in American history. While 58 million nodded their heads in approval, 55 million went the other way. Clearly, this is not a president with anything more than a lukewarm level of support among the overall electorate.
However, the large and now-silenced -thanks to those congressional results -minority of American Democrats will have to abandon the moderate mirage of the past 18 months. If opposed to Republican action, the Democrats will have to make as much noise as possible instead of meekly disagreeing. Intensity of emotion and resolve might not necessarily be enough to prevent the Republicans from forcing through another tax cut or another war, but it should be enough to tell the 58 million that what they are doing is in stark contrast to the wants of the other 55 million. That, combined with some possible cracks in the Republican base -financial conservatives who grudgingly went along with Bush because they could not stomach Kerry -could allow for the Democrats to put some dents in GOP legislation. The middle of the road will be a lot clearer with two real opposing viewpoints.
It is not as if President Bush is in an enviable situation -terrorists are still lurking, Iraq is far from stable and the long-term viability of the American economy, conflicting positive or negative indicators aside, is in doubt. The burden of proof is now with the Republicans -and they have two years until mid-term elections to justify 58 million Americans' faith in them.
Good riddance
One positive piece of news has come out of Washington this past week -it is likely that Attorney General John Ashcroft is set to leave his post. Ashcroft's possible exit would allow the Bush administration to rid itself of one of the most polarizing figures in a polarizing administration and make good on some idle talk to give a more centrist slant to Bush's second term.
Ashcroft, though committed to his job and relentless -which has led to a lot of the criticism levied against him -has been nothing but a headache for civil liberties advocates, Democrats and even some Republicans during his reign. Ashcroft has simply been too out of the mainstream. He is a very devout Christian, which, in and of itself is certainly not a problem but has led to many superstitious moves on his part, such as reportedly having black cats removed from his path on international trips and having voluntary prayer meetings in his department, which some felt established a religion in the workplace and was against federal policy. Ashcroft also took his religious leanings to an extreme by covering up the breast of the statue of Justice.
But besides Ashcroft's quirks, his department has engaged in legally questionable behavior. His support and use of The Patriot Act, designed to combat terrorism, is constantly questioned as a breach of civil liberties. The continued detention of hundreds of enemy combatants at Guantanamo Bay is a convenient way to keep hundreds in a state of legal limbo.
If Ashcroft indeed does resign, his departure is a victory for lovers of civil liberties everywhere. 17
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