I had sincerely hoped the residents of Ohio wouldn’t be as foolish as my gut was telling me. Silly me, I should have known better. The recent handling of Ohio by the former administration isn’t a sterling example of Republican leadership---it’s a terrible example, in fact---but I would still consider the party as a whole the lesser of two evils.

America is in trouble. We---the American people---are in deep doo-doo. The voting public has handed the reins of the country over to Democrats in the form of both the House and the Senate based on a whimsical fantasy that they will do better both at home and abroad.

Did I miss something? So far I have heard no solid plans by any Democrats for tackling Iraq or any of the situations facing the country on its own soil. All I see is a new front opening up that President Bush is going to have to fight on. Nancy Pelosi seems to be trying to rein in her liberal cohorts, but I wonder how long that is going to last. If we’re too busy fighting each other at home on Capitol Hill, how the heck are we supposed to get out of Iraq any time in the near future?

More frightening, however, is what this means for 2008. The discontent with the GOP runs deep and Republican candidates are going to be hard pressed to rally their usual supporters, let alone take a wedge of the Democrats’ voters. 2006 does not bode well for the Republicans in the near future. Things are falling down around their ears, allowing the Dems to come in with the giant net and look like heroes. Unless the Democratic Party loses the remnants of its collective sanity and---Heaven forbid---nominates Hillary Clinton as their candidate in 2008 or the newly Dem controlled Congress does something incredibly stupid---which is quite possible---2008 is looking dangerously good for the Democrats.

Already prospective Republican candidates are coming under fire. Liberal authors will be out in hordes over the next two years, cranking out books to slam the conservative opposition. Rudy Giuliani, former Mayor of New York, was a target before the table-turning election. In Grand Illusion: The Untold Story of Rudy Giuliani and 9/11 authors Wayne Barrett and Dan Collins attempt to break down Giuliani’s public image, chipping away at his chances at becoming President of the United States.

The politicians will play with fire in Washington, the media will whittle away the respect for all of them, and it will be the public that gets burned when all is said and done. Listen to what the all politicians and media are saying, get past the campaign fluff, and take everything---all their promises and accusations---with a grain of salt.