Now that the election is behind us and the post-mortems have begun, I have a few reflections on what strikes me as the most important lessons and issues that we may take from this election season.

On the local and state front, I was most struck by the appallingly low level of the campaign for Kansas attorney general. Phill Kline’s use of old and unproved charges against Paul Morrison was, in my opinion, both uncivil and bordered on misrepresentation in the way they were put forward. Kline’s appearance on “The O’Reilly Factor” struck me as utterly inappropriate and very possibly unethical if he was aware of illegal disclosures from his office made to Bill O’Reilly. Indeed, I must ask why Kline didn’t challenge immediately O’Reilly’s claim of having viewed private medical records of Kansas residents.

On the other side, I thought that the “Snoop Dog” campaign launched against Kline was shameful and utterly inappropriate in an election for the highest legal officer of the state. Whoever was responsible for these advertisements deserves nothing but scorn.

The fact is that the attorney general is the highest elected legal officer of the state of Kansas. Whoever holds the position should act in a non-partisan manner and display only the highest integrity and ethics. Candidates for this office should comport themselves in the same manner. To bring an election campaign down to the level we have just witnessed is an act of contempt for the state and its people.

On the national front, the Democratic victory in both the House and Senate is remarkable. But as Democrats take over Congress there is little time for celebration of that victory. Their victory bespeaks a wide public dissatisfaction with the state of American politics, of the way in which the war in Iraq has been waged so far, and with the many economic and social problems that confront our nation. More than one commentator in the past two weeks has made the point that this election was a sign from the electorate that the American people want less extremist rhetoric and ideology and more pragmatic solutions to problems which we, as a nation, face.

As the Democrats take over Congress for the next two years, the American people will be watching to see whether they can do a better job than the Republicans have done in the past 12 years. There are no easy answers to our entanglement in Iraq or the spread of nuclear weapons to North Korea and, potentially, Iran. Nor will the great debates over illegal immigration, Social Security or health care reform that so divide our people today be easily mediated.

If the Democrats are going to fulfill their electoral mandate of 2006, they must act with wisdom and pragmatism. They must also seek out bipartisan coalitions with their Republican colleagues and forget past injustices. These will not be easy tasks to accomplish but they are absolutely essential to the future of the United States. I hope that all Americans – Republican, Democrat, Independent and others – will all now put the election behind them and focus on the daunting tasks ahead.

In the meantime I believe that both major political parties in Kansas must examine the ways in which election campaigns are conducted. Reform is obviously necessary. Negative advertisements do not bring people to the polls. Numerous studies show this. On the contrary, negative campaigns convince people not to vote. How can we complain about low voter turnout when the very campaigns waged are designed to keep people from voting? It is time to return dignity, civility, and integrity to Kansas politics.

Have a happy Thanksgiving.