Listening to the mainstream media and the talk on the street you’d think that Tuesday’s election was an enormous shift in government power. The same people who nod in agreement when someone belittles the difference between Republicans and Democrats are now ecstatic that the Democrats had a good game on Tuesday, as though good representative government magically materializes when Democrats take office. When the dust and the euphoria settle, most of us will remember that nearly all Democratic office holders rolled over on the war and the Patriot Act. Any closet progressives among them might feel a little bolder today, but the corporate money in the campaign coffers still is steering the ship of state.

My first thought about a good day for donkeys on Tuesday was that it wouldn’t make much difference to the Bush gang. All the legislative and investigative committees in The House now will be controlled by Democrats, but the lame duck administration has no discernable legislative agenda. For that matter, neither do the Democrats. But just about the time I crossed the tees on that thought, Bush blinked. Rumsfeld’s head rolled. I guess that punctuates the official abandonment of the term "stay the course," but I remain skeptical that the gang will look much different on Iraq, no matter who gets the biggest office at Defense.

The odd thing about Doolittle’s predictable win was that Nevada County went with Brown after supporting Doolittle on every previous run. Apparently, the Congressman’s ethical shortcomings had more appeal, locally than in the rest of the Fourth District. Brown was a candidate attractive enough to beat a guy like Doolittle in most places, but the Fourth Congressional District was mapped by a Democratic legislature wanting to maintain Democratic domination of neighboring districts. In other words, the Fourth District was handed on a platter to the Republicans, and the result was a representative who won’t listen to you unless you’re a lobbyist carrying cash. The question now is whether Doolittle will try to hang on to his seat or just cover his butt when the indictment comes down. This is kind of a "public eavesdropping" item which, I believe, explains why Brown did well here. I overheard an older gentleman telling another why he voted for Brown. He said, "I may be a Republican, but I can read."

Senator John Kerry blew into California last week to help elect Phil Angelides governor, and that proved to be his lesser mistake. He immediately opened mouth and inserted foot with a crack to the effect that if you don’t work hard and do your homework you end up stuck in Iraq. The piranhas of the press pounced, accusing Kerry of trashing the troops. I thought it was obvious he was bashing Bush, and besides, why would we be more than mildly interested in Kerry’s casual remarks? He’s not running for anything. There was an element in the remark about the military being staffed by people who aren’t highly employable in other jobs, but that’s what you might call brutally accurate.

Speaking of brutal Bush bashing, I liked the story about the school bus driver in Seattle who got fired from her job after she encountered Bush’s motorcade and flipped off the guy who thinks he’s the President. Bush didn’t take it too hard. He turned to the congressman riding with him and said, "That one’s not a fan." Somebody ratted her out, though, and now she’s suing to get her job back. Her employer says she wasn’t fired for giving the finger to the President; she was fired for doing it in front of the children. This one could go either way.

One more local election item: Tom Anderson beat Ray Shine for a seat on the Superior Court despite spending about half as much money on the campaign. Shine spent six figures, and something about that is even more disturbing than the money it takes to get elected to partisan positions. Most of us are numb to the news of bribery disguised as campaign contributions. Guys like Doolittle now come right out and admit it. But when a small town judge has to raise more than the annual salary just to get the job, then I don’t want to go near that guy’s courtroom whether I’m guilty or innocent.

The Democrats raised a minor stink about that mailer a few days before the election which was packaged as a Democratic voter’s guide. It had a picture of Dianne Feinstein and it endorsed all the Democrats for statewide office, but the Democrats said it was designed to trick Democrats into voting no on Prop 87–taxing oil companies to develop alternative energy. The only clue about who paid for the thing was an address in southern California and the name "Voter Information Guide." In other words, you had to do some serious research to follow the money. Curiously, the mailer endorsed one local candidate–Ray Shine–and Shine’s disclosure statement showed that he paid for the privilege. I’ve never seen a campaign ploy quite like this before. It’s extremely deceptive, perfectly legal, and quite brilliant.

Politics is always a little different up in the far northeast, but here’s a first. Vermont has elected a guy named Bernie Sanders to the United States Senate. He was identified on the ballot as an independent, but he candidly accepts the label "socialist," the first person ever elected to the Senate admitting to that political persuasion. I don’t think this represents the end of demonizing socialism as a legitimate political point of view in this country, but it’s a little crack in the facade and a step toward having more people in high public office designated as something other than asses and elephants.

I read a piece from the Washington Post reciting some of the more unintentionally humorous remarks by prominent candidates in the election campaigns. For example, an incumbent Republican US Senator in Ohio accused his opponent of running an office where an employee got sick from eating a marijuana laced banana. How did they get that stuff through the peel? Maybe the craziest, though, was the Bushwhacker saying the death sentence handed to Saddam Hussein vindicates the US invasion and occupation of Iraq. Let’s see. Hundreds of thousands dead, treasures of ancient history destroyed, but it’s all worth it if one evil dictator swings from a gallows.