After Tuesday’s election, it’s going to be an interesting two years. At this time there is no way of knowing whether it will be a time of cooperation and progress or one of one-upmanship, stalemates and political maneuvering.

Democrats have every reason to be happy with the outcome of Tuesday’s election. Republicans probably are asking themselves what happened, although the answer to this question is pretty clear: poor leadership, complacency, arrogance, scandal and Iraq!

The election is over and it is understandable if Democrats engage in a bit of gloating. They won the war. But now they face the challenge of doing a good enough job to place the party in a favorable position to hold on to Congress and win the 2008 presidential race.

There are some big questions, however, facing both Democrats and GOP leaders.

One of the biggest and scariest questions that really cannot be answered at this time is how historians 20-30 years from now will view this election relative to Uncle Sam’s foreign policy.

Will Tuesday’s win by Democrats with many of the top Democrats calling for a major cutback in our presence and role in Iraq be looked upon as the point America forfeited its position as a world leader, as a time when American leaders were unwilling to call for the sacrifices associated with being the world’s champion of freedom and democracy?

Obviously, in the eyes of voters, Iraq outweighed the strong national economy, strong employment numbers and low unemployment figures. The fact that terrorists were unable to launch any deadly efforts against America on our home soil did not register as being too important. National security was far down the list of important concerns.

Again, the deadly war in Iraq along with the bitter hatred of Bush and any programs championed by Bush were the primary factors in conditioning the public to reject any candidate who favored the Bush agenda. This, along with the misbehavior of a number of GOP officeholders and a national media that didn’t hide its bias against Bush, all combined to give Democrats a big, big win.

In one sense, however, it was a case of Republicans losing the contest rather than the Democrats winning.

One thing is for sure, and that is the elections served as a giant wakeup call for the Republican Party, nationally as well as at the state and local level. Chances are GOP leaders already are at work planning how to retake Congress in two years with Democratic leaders urging their winners and their supporters to enjoy the fruits of victory but conduct themselves in a manner to justify their re-election at the next election.

Some questions:

¢ Democrats are inheriting a sound, strong economy. Will they be able to sustain this positive climate or will they call for higher taxes across the board or the elimination of many economic stimulants put in place by Bush and Congress?

¢ Will Democrats revert to a more socialistic approach to government’s role in our lives?

¢ What degree of cooperation will there be in Washington between the White House and the Democrat-controlled Congress?

¢ At the state level, will Gov. Kathleen Sebelius serve out her four-year term or will she be maneuvering for a spot on the Democrat national ticket or a cabinet position if Democrats take over the White House after the 2008 election?

¢ How will Nancy Boyda measure up? There’s no way of knowing and it is questionable if she really reflects the thinking and values of the majority of her constituents. The same might be said of Dennis Moore. Both Boyda and Moore, along with Paul Morrison, benefited greatly from strong divisions within the Republican party.

¢ Will they be able to perform as incumbents as well as they said they could perform when playing the role of a challenger? Time will tell.

At both the national and state levels, some good, decent men and women lost in their bids for public office. Jim Ryun is such a case. In other situations, some bums were tossed out due to their behavior and lack of honesty.

Some Republicans lost, not because they did a poor job but because they were tied to the Bush commitment to fight the spread of terrorism. Time will tell whether too many Americans are too concerned about what’s good for them personally today and tomorrow rather than what’s good for the country in the long run.

Again, will this country and its people play a deadly price “x” number of years from now for weakening America’s fight against terrorism in the just-finished congressional election?

The election is over, but all voters, Republican and Democrat, should hope those candidates re-elected to office and those who will be serving their first terms, all perform in the best possible manner for the betterment and strength of their respective states and the nation!