I think it's fair to describe the outcome of the election as a Republican loss, but not necessarily a Democratic victory. Where I'm coming from is viewing the Democratic mandate as strong, but narrow--it's not to implement the Democratic agenda so much as to express through action the backlash against six years of Republican rule.

Pelosi's already talking about addressing such agenda items as raising the minimum wage, but the outcome is no more certain than it was before the election. That's a conventional issue with predictable arguments. Where the Democrats have to be seen taking strong action, early, is by satisfying the people's agenda: Changing the course in Iraq; getting to the bottom of lingering controversies like pre-9/11 and pre-Iraq intelligence failures; corruption, not so much the sexual kind, but of the K Street Project/Jack Abramoff official corruption kind; in a related vein, several Democrats have expressed in interest in investigating Cheney's secret deal with the energy industry; and managerial failures like the response to Katrina. The people are bugged, and want Democrats to make it better.

The Democrats have to take care of that business before they can even think of advancing their own agenda. They'll be busy for a couple of years doing the people's business, and that's a good thing. They'll have to earn an agenda mandate the old-fashioned way, through service and demonstrating effectiveness. This election won't be a free ride for the Democratic agenda.

That doesn't mean that partisan Democrats won't enjoy throwing a bright light on the failures of their Republican predecessors. But partisan glee doesn't negate the facts. I really think that the Founders intended to harness the power of the base impulse to schadenfreude and desire for vindication in service of a higher cause. Gleeful partisans--a.k.a. strongly-motivated citizens--are players in the game of checks-n-balances too.

It can be unpleasant for the losing side, but that's the American Way of politics. You're about to get an education on what it was like for us the first few years under Republican rule. For my part I'll try to avoid throwing gasoline on the fire, but human nature guarantees that you're not in for an easy time of it. You have my sympathy for what is to come. Welcome to another round of Ride That Tiger!