A bloody nose for Bush.

YeeHaaa !!!

The Democrats have taken control of the House, and at the moment the Senate is too close to call. The only possible interpretation of this is that American people have voiced their disapproval of Bush's Iraq adventure.

But let's not get carried away - the Democrats are hardly a party of radicals. But the most important thing is that they are NOT the Republicans and will cramp the style of the Bush administration for the next two years. And no further adventures in Iran.

I'm getting used to that kind of thinking - low expectations, because British politics has gone pretty much the same way as the US; now there's only a wafer of fundamental difference between the Tories, New Labour and the Lib-Dems.

And before anyone here in Britain gets smug about the deficiencies of the US system: they have a written constitution, the separation of powers, and a system of checks and balances. As prime minister, Blair has more real power than Bush does as president; he has used his parliamentary majority to railroad legislation and prevent criticism of the government. The US system of mid-terms is at least intended to curtail this.

Right now I think that Steve Earle's words, written at the time of a previous election, probably sums up best what we really need:

It's Christmastime in Washington
The Democrats rehearsed
Gettin' into gear for four more years
Things not gettin' worse
The Republicans drink whiskey neat
And thanked their lucky stars
They said, 'He cannot seek another term
They'll be no more FDRs'
I sat home in Tennessee
Staring at the screen
With an uneasy feeling in my chest
And I'm wonderin' what it means

Chorus:
So come back Woody Guthrie
Come back to us now
Tear your eyes from paradise
And rise again somehow
If you run into Jesus
Maybe he can help you out
Come back Woody Guthrie to us now

I followed in your footsteps once
Back in my travelin' days
Somewhere I failed to find your trail
Now I'm stumblin' through the haze
But there's killers on the highway now
And a man can't get around
So I sold my soul for wheels that roll
Now I'm stuck here in this town

Chorus

There's foxes in the hen house
Cows out in the corn
The unions have been busted
Their proud red banners torn
To listen to the radio
You'd think that all was well
But you and me and Cisco know
It's going straight to hell

So come back, Emma Goldman
Rise up, old Joe Hill
The barracades are goin' up
They cannot break our will
Come back to us, Malcolm X
And Martin Luther King
We're marching into Selma
As the bells of freedom ring

Chorus