Making my peace, writ large

Wouldn't it have been nice if my side had kept the House?

Eh. I'm not so sure. For the past two years, the GOP has had no stake in governing. They could (and did) obstruct just about everything and claim to have no voice in crafting legislation or setting the agenda. They had no skin in the game. It doesn't break my heart to have lost the House, and now we can all stop listening to how awful that awful, awful Nancy Pelosi is. (Awful.)

Having said that, it is preposterous to call the results on Tuesday anything but a big-time loss for the Democrats. The country obviously thinks what it needs is Even More Change, and is none-too-happy with President Obama and the Democrats' (perceived) agenda. (And Nancy Pelosi? Awful. I hear she eats children.) If the Democrats had held the House, it would have been a glorious repudiation of the Tea Party movement, the goals of which I find a combination of absurd, ill-informed and horrifying, to say nothing of its idiot Queen. The time for snickering at their poorly-worded signs is long past. They're here, it's clear, get used to it.

But... no Sen. Angle. No Gov. Tancredo. No Sen. O'Donnell. No Gov. Paladino. Probably no Sen. Miller. Mirabile dictu. No matter how much they may not like Harry Reid (who, doncha know, hangs out with that awful Nancy Pelosi), voters in Nevada at least recognized that Sharron Angle is a dangerous lunatic. I can find reasons enough to be happy, and a blue Senate is enough to stymie the worst of the excesses of our tea-drinking friends.

Further, both the state where I live and the state where I work have kept their House delegations in the hands of my party. There are still some strong and effective liberal voices in Congress. Everything's not lost.

Lastly, I happen to think this election is a mixed-bag at best for Sarah Palin. The primary voters who listened to her are probably responsible for keeping the Senate in Democratic control. The candidate she endorsed in her home state is likely to be defeated by a despised political rival. As hilariously varied as the Palin-analysis has been, put me on the side of those who think this was not a great night for her.

So, while I'm not thrilled by this week's results, neither am I looking for a window to jump out of. We'll see where this goes, America.