Big Boys and Big Girls

There are exactly two moments during the last six years during which I thought President Bush could not have been more presidential and dignified. The first was after the attacks on September 11, 2001. The second was yesterday.

Usually, he comes across as cocky, arrogant, and (to put it as mildly as possible) a jerk. I think that the results from Tuesday's elections finally got through to him, though. We aren't seeing the usual "talking down" and defiance that we've seen so many times before. He's let Rummy go. He wants to work with the Democrats. There have been no temper tantrums-- at least not from this administration. I can't say the same about all of the pundits, losers, and supporters, but these are the exception and not the rule. The Republicans, I am happy to say, do not appear to be sore losers. They definitely have one up on the Democrats, there.

The Democrats thus far appear to be good winners, too. I haven't seen any real gloating thus far. They have said that they want to work with the Republicans to make America better. And if the Democrats and the Republicans want to work together (finally!), then I applaud that decision. It's about time. I'm sick of the divisiveness that we've seen over the last 12 years. It was mostly brought on by the Republicans and their supporters, but they now appear to be willing to change that. If they mean what they say, then I'm proud of them.

It's such a refreshing change from just four years ago. (Heck! It's a refreshing change from just two days ago!) You may remember the day after elections in 2004. Fox News pundits were smirking and screaming, "It's the morals, stupid!" (Dangerous words, considering that the higher the pedestal you place someone on, the farther they'll fall. And fall, they did.) Republicans wanted to take away what little power the Dems had left and snatch the filibuster out from under them. (Thank goodness for the Republicans that John McCain had the foresight to nix that plan!) There was a declaration of mandate, and power was used as if there was one, with little regard to public opinion. Democrats fired accusations and slurs, and Republicans fired back. Republicans were heartless. Democrats were chickens.

The fact that a president was almost kicked out of office by a guy whose only real platform was, "I'm not him." was overlooked. That was a boon that shouldn't have been ignored. Two years later, it caught up with the Republicans. Nancy Pelosi is already promising to run a virtually corruption-free Congress. She needs to be careful about that. But the main thing that I'm seeing more than anything else is how civilized both sides are being. I'm happy. I'm really happy.