Posturing

Who has the 'mandate of heaven'? The newly victorious Democrats will tell you that the 'People have spoken', and so they have. Such is the operation of democracy, and such is the dilemma of our present situation.

I'm not exuberant over this change, but I recognize that it has some opportunities to rectify some of the excesses that the Republicans were blindly wallowing in, to their electoral regret. Among those is an over reliance on the 'Religious Right', which while important, should never have been considered decisive. Nothing like a 'thumping' to straighten these things out.

Rumsfeld is out, a relative unknown Gates is coming in. I'm not excited- I liked the change Rumsfeld wrought, although I believe it was the right thing and the right time for him to leave with dignity. I was a Rumsfeld supporter because I felt that his change was overall positive, breaking up the bureaucratic paralysis that seems to characterize the Pentagon's overall activity. While he was brusque and caustic, those who couldn't stand up to that frankly don't deserve their positions, much less my sympathy from their whining. They, the General officers and high-ranked civilian officials of the 'Five Rings', are supposed to control the Armed Forces of the United States for Christ's sake! Now that Rummy's gone, the same problems will continue, so good luck to Gates! Two milbloggers I like are pretty skeptical of the new guy's approach, but if he can reduce friction within the intelligence services and other bureaucracies like the Department of State, that would be a positive development.

While I don't like the message some overseas will get from this election (especially the EUNuchs who are currently rejoicing), such is the burden of democracy. Ignore the populace at your peril. I'm personally amused at the shift in coverage on Iraq we can expect in the months to come, now that a different party has to gain more responsibility for the outcome abroad. So let's see how people posture in the wake of this electoral shift!