Life during wartime. Election during wartime. It's not surprising that the Republicans gained control of both the House and the Senate, since Republicans have traditionally been seen as being better than the Dems to handle war and defense. It's the 9/11 effect on American politics.

But my father, who was a die hard union liberal democrat, would say that every democrat defeat is a time for the party to assess itself and plan for the next election. He would say that politics is like a never ending war and one lost battle does not mean you've lost the war. The Dems will have to go through a long overdue soul searching and learn from this defeat. The Republicans have planned their strategy for years starting at the grass roots level with reapportionment in the South, and concentrating on local and state races and governorships. The Dems, as was seen in the Florida race in the 2000 election, did not have the troops on the ground in Florida which was a telling sign of the state of the Democratic party at the grassroots, local and state level.

The Dems have been focused on winning the presidency and won with the election of Bill Clinton, but it was done at the expense of the local, state and governorship races. I was reminded yesterday that Tip O'Neill said that "all politics is local". The Republican take over of the house and senate in this election proved Tip O'Neill was right.

Not a good day for the Dems unless you live in California, but the success of the Democratic party in California Republic bodes well for the Dems. California has always been seen as a political bellwether; so goes California, eventually so goes the rest of the country. Although the GOP have won this battle, the future for the Dems is still pretty darn bright!