The Sunday News shows were kinda predictable, but there were a few interesting things. One is that the democratic leaning commentators were saying, correctly, that this wasn't some kind of demand by an overwhelming majority for radical change. Of course, they use the "mandate" lingo, but that's what it means.

The way I look at it, it is a call for change, but it the fervor of the call, while substantive, isn't overwhelming. Let's get down to a reality check here. The republicans are, like the democrats do when they win, saying that "the american people" this, and "the american people" that, such as, "the american people have spoken, and have rejected Obama's policies."

That's the biggest bunch of bull - all it is is bluster. Something like 65% of all voting age adults are registered to vote, and less than half of those people voted. To get 55% of the vote of 45% of 65% of the population isn't even a majority! They ought to be honest and just say, "we won a majority of the people that cared enough to vote for the house of representatives, and a number of state legislatures." But to say, "the people are speaking" is such a bunch of BS. I hate it when they say that, whether it is republican or democrat.

Besides, the system that most of the rest of the democratic world uses - which is the proportional representational system, where you vote for a party and whatever percent of vote that party gets, they get that percent of vote for the leader. It's a much fairer system, and doesn't disenfranchise all minority vote getters completely, like our system does. The only place in our system where minorities have any power is in the US Senate, and they have too much there, because they can block things too easily. Minority political parties should have more power from the ground up.

Oh well, I digress. Other interesting conversations were had about Nancy Pelosi and Sarah Palin. Interestingly, the left leaning pundits thought that Palin had the right to run for president, by golly, and she was a powerful force in the republican party, a view not necessarily shared openly by the right leaning pundits. And, one might observe a similar, although not identical, political demographic emerge in conversations about whether or not Nancy Pelosi should stay on as minority leader. The right leaning pundits said, "oh sure, go for it," whereas the left leaning pundits were more cautious. However, they weren't ready to throw Pelosi under the bus like the right leaning pundits were ready to throw Palin under the bus.

Personally, I think that Pelosi needs to stay on and fight. I think it's important for the overall view of females in the political process that she not turn tail and run after being demonized more than anyone can imagine. If she can roll up her sleeves and do unto the republicans what they have done unto her, that is going to send a message to females that they can hold their ground in battle with the ugliest and meanest of males.

Besides, who knows the rules and the strategies better than an ex-speaker? And with a lot of the blue dog democrats gone, the remaining democrats in the house can formulate a more aggressive progressive platform, which has been missing. Why do you think republican enthusiasm was up so much and the democratic enthusiasm was so lackluster?

Most everyone agreed that the republicans in the house can no longer "just say no." They are going to have to show, eventually, when they have to respond to Obama's budget, they are going to have to show their hand about what they will spend money on and what they won't. They are avoiding that like the plague. Even today, not one of the right wing leaning pundits would venture a guess at where the republicans are going to cut spending. Only that they would.

McConnell did not make good press when he said that the republican's number one priority should be making sure that Obama did not get a second term. Of course, McConnell is such a hypocrite - he's been first in line for stimulus money all the while hammering Obama that the stimulus is working. Worked for a lot of areas of Kentucky, including around here. But that's politics in america, isn't it? My long term prognosis is that republicans will not handle this situation well. People are going to be so fed up with the two parties, maybe they will start giving more of a serious look at other parties than the democrats and republicans. That would be good for the system.