And Now, Madam Speaker...

At noon today, the Democrats reclaimed control of both houses of Congress for the fist time in twelve years. Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco, California took the chair as Speaker of the House, the first woman and the first Italian-American to do so. In the Senate, Harry Reid of Nevada takes the leadership of a razor-thin majority that hangs in the balance pending the successful recovery of fellow Democratic Senator Tim Johnson of South Dakota.

In November, I predicted that the Democrats would regain control of the House, but that the Republicans would retain a bare majority in the Senate. In my prediction, I underestimated the depth of the change, which is still relatively minor. As much as the Republicans deserved the "thumpin'" that they received, I was sad to see so many moderate Republicans, including Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, take the fall for the excesses of their party, most of which were committed by the more ideological wing of the party. The 2006 elections, especially in the House, resulted in an ideological winnowing of the GOP, and there's no reason to believe that they won't be as hard-line as they ever have been. No doubt the new GOP minority in the House has been chastened and hopefully they'll be better statespeople. That said, the interventionist, expansionist, and evangelical character of the republican delegation was only intensified.

As for the democrats, they won because Congress under the GOP was such an abominable failure (definitely read this link). Throughout the election, I never got a sense that they offered a clear message, a clear alternative - other than a few light policy prescriptions such as a minimum wage increase and ethics reform, and of course greater oversight of the executive branch and more trenchant criticism of the war in Iraq. All of these objectives are worthy, but I would have preferred a bolder platform and a stronger announcement of intent, rather than the legislative fast-food they plan to offer in 100 hours of floor time in Congress. The Democrats won, but they have not found their voice yet. It's essential that they do, before the 2008 election cycle, which, by the way, started before the mid-term elections.

Today, I came across a good editorial written by Dick Meyer at CBSNews.com. He writes of a precipitous decline in "civic maturity" both on the part of the citizens and their elected officials. This decline, he argues, explains the general malaise that has stricken political discourse in recent years. Here's why:

The seasons of American civic life are messed up by the global warming effect of the ceaseless campaign. This January, not only will a new Congress be sworn in, but people like Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Mitt Romney and John McCain will officially declare their campaigns for a presidential election that's still 20 months away.

Meyer's argument doesn't bode well for our polity: our politicians are always campaigning, and never governing. The other day, David Brooks, in a discussion on News Hour With Jim Lehrer, noted the decline in "sophistication" in the congressional delegations over the years. Under Republican rule, they spent fewer and fewer days in Washington, a place where relationships are forged, bridges are built, and coalitions are made. A congress that meets three days a week, he argued, never got to the point where they could know each other well enough to build the trust necessary to forge coalitions. It's no wonder that Congressional politics have devolved into bitter partisanship. So I suppose the Democrats' call for a five-day workweek is probably a good thing for the country. It is, at least, a start.

I worry, though, about reprisals from a newly-emboldened Democratic congress, whose members were justifiably abused in previous republican-led Congresses. That will only serve to set the stain that has already been created. I also worry about a stubborn, reckless, and imperious president who is loath to admit error. I found it interesting that of all the aspects of Gerald Ford's life his eulogizers chose to emphasize, they chose his fundamental decency and his ability to heal the country. These are the characteristics we need from our politicians now, as we are plunged into yet another long national nightmare, this one involving a culture war at home and a far deadlier war abroad. To this end, I wish the Democrats godspeed.