Partisans (both Democrats and Republicans) grieve especially,
on Election Day Plus One, for individual legislators defeated,
men and women, however few, who inspired confidence for whatever
reason. Tenacity and right-mindedness, in the case of Rick
Santorum. Geniality of intellect and an aura of idealism-in-hand,
in the case of Jim Talent.
But on the big picture, what should one say, other than that
if it hadn't happened, democratic governance would have been
guilty of being asleep at the wheel?
Consider the event. A rejection of the policies of an
incumbent president in Year Six is habitual. If it can happen to
FDR and to Ike, it can happen to, well, anybody. President Bush
gave over the last two days of the campaign to a single jibe:
"They don't like ( )? Ask them what their plan is."
And if the campaign was mostly about the Iraq war, he made a
solid point. Is Nancy Pelosi the voice of the opposition in the
House? If so, what exactly is her plan? She is against the
war and was against it from the beginning, but what is she now to
do, if the results of Nov. 7 truly reflect national opposition to
what we are trying to accomplish in Iraq?
The challenge posed by President Bush bounces back at him.
What -- the dissenters at the voting booths were entitled to ask
-- is your plan? If there is dissatisfaction, it is
consummated by the replacement of the executive team. But these
things do not happen in off-year elections.
It can hardly be doubted that if Mr. Bush had been up for
re-election on Tuesday he would have been defeated. But inasmuch
as he is still in office, what is reasonably expected? Mr. Bush
has no "plan" other than a projection of the same plan that has
failed. He can attempt to achieve success by more of the same,
even if more of the same has given no evidence of a critical new
life. If there is ahead of us a true departure from the program
the administration has been following up to now, it must satisfy
those whose rejection of existing policies was registered on Nov.
7.
It is sobering to remind ourselves that the alternatives open
to Congress come down finally to categorical action. When
Congress decided to act on the unpopularity of the Vietnam War,
it passed a series of resolutions and laws that prevented
President Nixon from taking basic tactical steps to thwart the
total defeat that lay ahead for us. If comparable laws were
passed today, they would forbid American money to be used in Iraq
for hostile purposes, which would be tantamount to forbidding
armed resistance to the claims of the insurgents.