It's really over

Whew! The elections are officially over. No more nasty campaign ads promising this or that, no more yard signs beside the highway, and no more automated phone calls asking for your vote.

Isn’t it great?

I won’t go into too many specific races or outcomes in this column — I know you’re all pretty tired of hearing about these things right now, sort of like the day-after-Thanksgiving warmed over turkey.

But I will say that even though I’m a Democrat, and the Democrats won control of the House and Senate, I hope that all parties — Democrats, Republicans and Independents — can work together for the common good of our nation.

The problems we are facing today go far beyond the partisan issues that crop up each election cycle: Our nation’s military is hunkered down in Iraq, fighting tooth and nail with extremists who want nothing more than to kill every U.S. soldier and hang them from the highest tree; our nation’s healthcare system is laughable, with millions choosing between medicine and food; and our morale seems to be dwindling.

I think everyone involved in politics can see these symptoms, even the president, who said Wednesday that he pledges to work with the Democrats on issues that are important to America. Of course, he has no choice now that the Democrats are in power, but one hopes that he is sincere in his statement.

Our nation can’t take two more years of partisan squabbles. We must come to terms with the situation in Iraq, and the president and his new Secretary of Defense must be straight with the American people about the war.

Let’s face it, it isn’t going well, otherwise Rumsfeld wouldn’t have stepped down Wednesday. It’s now up to Rumsfeld’s replacement, former CIA chief Robert Gates, to form a plan for Iraq that will see the United States winning the war and restoring some semblance of peace to that region.

I’m trying to be optimistic with the outcome of the 2006 elections, and I truly hope that President Bush can step forward and work alongside the Democrats. I also have hope that the new Congress will propose solid ideas and work with the president.

It’s time for everyone to realize that our government should no longer focuson which party holds the most power because, in the end, we’re all going to have to work together if we ever want things to change.