The last time one party had such margins in both houses of Congress and the White House was January 1993-1995 when the Democrats had it all. Were they "perfect"? Hardly. They failed to get several of their big initiatives through, such as nationalized health care, despite having much larger margins than the Republicans will have starting next January. Were the Democrats expected to be perfect? Not by anyone I can recall. That being the case, why should Republicans be held to an impossible standard.

You're right in that the Republicans are in the driver's seat. They'll have much less room for excuses, so they'd better step up and govern. However, just because you're in the driver's seat, it doesn't mean you're immune to the effects of the back-seat drivers. In the Senate, it takes 60 votes to end a fillibuster. There are other Senate procedures that require a super majority. The Democrats, though in the minority (God, I love typing that!), can still have a lot of influence on what legislation gets passed.

Note to the Republican winners: Govern wisely, or you'll very quickly wear out your welcome.