http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=BAR20061124&articleId=3964

Reclaiming America: Democrats Must Truly Change Course

The Democrats' ascendancy within the US Congress COULD signal the regaining by the public, of its country's direction

The astounding results of the US Congressional elections of 7 November were undoubtedly a welcome sign of change, not in the American political apparatus, inasmuch as it is in the unmistakable reclamation by the PUBLIC of its ROLE AS DRIVING FORCE which shapes the nation's political posture

This having been said, one must not confuse the redefining of the public relevance to political discourse and processes, with the political machination and platforms entrusted with translating the people's will, grievances or aspirations into action. The EARLY SIGNS ARE NOT PROMISING HOWEVER, and suggest that for any practical change to be achieved and consolidated, public awareness and engagement must, for their part, be neither marginalised nor relegated.

Most analyses agree that Iraq was indeed the decisive factor that helped turn the tide against the Republicans and their president, with their tired mantras and slogan-based foreign policy. The decisive outcome of the elections was a resounding message that Americans can no longer operate on the basis of fear alone, and that the people of the United States are no longer self-absorbed and incapable of shaping their overall political outlook on the basis of exterior factors. This time, it was not the economy, but war that wrought an end, even if temporarily, to President George W Bush's administration's expansionist and even imperialist view of the world.

For a few days, one indulged in the sweetness of victory, at the sight of neo-conservative ideologues collectively disowning their hegemonic project and their once-hailed hero, now a lame duck president. The January issue of Vanity Fair magazine is scheduled to highlight the full scale of the neocons' historic disintegration. David Rose has reported on his findings, quoting the war architects themselves: former chairman of the Pentagon's Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee Richard Perle, and former White House speechwriter David Frum, among others. Frum, who coined the "axis of evil" slogan, told Rose that the situation in Iraq "must ultimately be blamed on failure at the centre, starting with President Bush"............

.............The defeat of the Republican Party however, should not be understood as one that substantiates the ways of the Democrats. The latter offered no practicable solution to the Iraq war. Moreover, their party fought and won the elections with a majority of its nominees challenging the need, even, for a timetable for withdrawal. It is also worth noting that Democrats are equally responsible for the Iraq war: after all, a majority of their members in Congress voted for it, tirelessly justifying it on legal, moral and national security grounds.

The voters' dissatisfaction with Bush's 'staying the course' approach, perhaps inadvertently, invited Democrats back to a leadership position by a comfortable margin at the House of Representatives. This development takes place now, after years of indecisiveness and, frankly, of lack of purpose and cohesion. Despite the fact that it was the antiwar fervour that created the opportunity for the Democrat's political recovery, it could also be the reason sending them back into a state of lengthy hibernation.

The 7 November vote was a mandate that imagined a less hostile and more sensible and prudent America. The vote could be said to envisage a country that neither negotiates its civil liberties, nor 'pre-emptively' engages in brutal wars that damage its global reputation and compromise its national security. But does the Democratic leadership share that same vision, or will it simply try to manipulate its supposedly 'antiwar' image -- illusory as it is -- to advance its narrow and self-serving political ambitions?................