Has the political capital been returned NSF?

Question

Did you see how blue that map was?

Yeah, I was kinda trying to be funny. You remember our gracious leader after his crushing 1% win in 2004- "you see how red that map is? It's a mandate!"

Answer 1

Well, it should not be seen in terms of "blue" or "red" -really, if you look at an actual demographic map (such as the one Time magazine recently printed) it's in various shades of purple for the most part. Essentially, it was a generalization, and, like most (if not all) it is false.

This is more of a backlash against the GOP for a) taking their base for granted, b) failing to do anything of significance for the past two years, and c) an attempt to register annoyance with how the President's run things since his reelection.

The Democrats won, no question. But before the more liberal among us celebrate, I would point out that the way the Democrats won was, by and large, running candidates which appeal to moderates and conservatives, instead of more decidedly left-leaning candidates. And, going back to demographics for a moment, the overall trend is an increase in the number of people at all levels identifying themselves as conservative (but not necessarily Republican). What it means is that the Democrats have had to move to the right in order to win, and strike a more moderate tone.

Personally, I think they've needed to do this for quite some time. But if they try and promote decidedly left-of-center policies now, I don't think the result will be what some seem to expect. I think moderation is returning to politics, and hopefully, civility will not be far behind.