The way I see it, Democrats got almost everything they could wish for last night - and maybe even more. It was like a jolly old Santa Dean flew from house to house and stuffed little leftist, godless, tax-and-spend stockings full with most of the goodies on a Liberal’s list. But, some things didn’t make the cut. California appears to be passing Prop 8, rescinding the right to marry that gay and lesbian couples were granted just a short time ago. Florida’s own gay marriage ban passed. The congresswoman I voted for didn’t win. But two major things happened that we should all be ecstatic about. The first one’s obvious. We overwhelmingly elected Barack Obama to the highest office in this democracy, the significance of which I don’t think can be fully understood yet. Eight years of bad policy and complete disregard for the very things that make this a great nation (ahem, like the Constitution) have now been loudly rejected and we can all move on and make things better.

But the second thing that I think is important is that the Democrats have not secured a 60-seat supermajority. What honestly scares me the most right now is the possibility of a party completely overwhelmed by the power it lacked for so long. There’s no doubt that every Democrat in Washington is getting out his dusty list of issues and priorities, but there will still be a need to involve both parties to get anything done. A history teacher of mine once told me that this country’s founders purposefully devised a government that couldn’t easily accomplish anything. It was to specifically prevent radical change. None of the great progress this country has made happened overnight. It all happened out of compromise, debate and hard work. Social Security, women’s suffrage, civil rights, education - these have always been group efforts. I’m excited about the agenda of our new government, but I’m most excited about our government being able to making lasting change through cooperation. A Democrat’s Christmas (sorry, “holiday season”) wish list may be good and all, but if they have any hope of introducing anything that won’t get automatically overturned when the Liberals leave office, real bipartisan effort needs to be made. Obama, Pelosi and the like may get to set the agenda, but they need everyone if they plan to make history. That’s my thought, at least.