&uot;Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed there are many rewards, if you disgrace yourself you can always write a book.&uot; -Ronald Reagan

After Tuesday’s ‘thumpin’ at the polls, I am expecting a slew of books.

I fully expected the Democratic Party to regain control of the House of Representatives.

I did not expect them to take control of the Senate and gain the lion’s share of governorships.

Wow!

Surely all those unpatriotic Americans that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld spoke of did not actually do something as patriotic as vote on Tuesday.

Forgive me, I meant to say former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

Since he is now a private citizen, is it okay to call him Rummy?

I think I will.

I told everyone within earshot Tuesday night that after it was apparent that the Democrats were going to have a majority vote in the two houses that they would certainly look to hold criminal investigations for several members of the Bush administration.

Certainly the President would have to offer someone up as the scapegoat in the coming months.

Wrong, it took less than 24 hours to give Rummy the axe.

I firmly believe there will be an impeachment attempt, but I think it will fail. Especially since Bush’s Sergeant-at-Arms has been exiled from the big house.

How is it that after all the calls for Rummy’s dismissal, and all the steadfast loyalty the president has shown, it took less than one full day after the Democrats seized control of the government for Bush to dump him?

Where is the president’s loyalty now?

What happened to ‘stay the course’?

The Republican Party got what it deserved, but why?

I firmly believe that our country should do a better job securing our borders.

I also believe that we do not do enough to guarantee our citizens’ safety with the threat of terrorism more prevalent than ever.

What I do not believe is that it takes thousands of American lives and zillions of American dollars to accomplish those initiatives.

I also do not believe that Americans should have to relinquish the bulk of their civil liberties, nor should they have to resort to methods as despicable as those employed in Abu Ghraib or Guantanamo Bay to retrieve information from suspected terrorists and their allies.

Most of all, we never before had cause to live under a cloud of fear, because we as a nation have always represented the concept of democracy at the highest level.

This country has traditionally shown that in spite of having an ideologically diverse population base, our republic would always make decisions that were, for the most part, in the best interest of all Americans.

The elder Bush had decades of international political experience during his tenure as CIA Director and Vice President and he was savvy in his manner of addressing the American public, even when detractors wanted to take him to task over policy disagreements.

The elder Bush was also a war veteran who flew combat missions, was a superb athlete and scholar in college and he had the respect of many Americans, even those who were loyal to other political parties.

His son never gained the respect of the American public, only loyal Republicans who were hell bent on winning more than serving the best interests of the country.

He campaigned on his name, or rather the name of his father.

He was elected because of who his daddy was, because there was absolutely nothing about his political or personal record that suggested he would be competent as President of the United States.

Now in his last two years of office, his behind the scenes tactics and deplorable policies will be exposed.

The Bush administration ignored the American public and moved forward with their agenda, despite continual erosion in public trust and confidence.

Never once did anyone under Bush’s direction extend an olive branch to American citizens in an attempt to regain public support.

Bush and his crew have pretty much told the common man to take a long walk off of a short pier.

Even worse, members of Bush’s party, so desperate to maintain the illusion of moral superiority, stood steadfastly behind the sinking ship that was the White House, creating a divide among American citizens that far surpassed traditional partitions such as race and class.

Remember these numbers:

2,839 – 21,077 – $1 million – $18.5 billion – $380 billion

The first number is the number of Americans killed in Iraq.

The second number is the number of Americans wounded in Iraq.

The third number is the amount of retirement compensation Vice President Dick Cheney receives from defense contractor Halliburton every year.

The fourth number is the amount of money that Halliburton has profited from the war in Iraq.

The fifth number is the total cost of the American occupation of Iraq to date.

You will be seeing those numbers in your sleep once the congressional hearings begin.

We were told that we needed to initiate this war to hunt down and kill Osama Bin Laden for his role in 9/11.

Five years later, after all of those numbers posted above, Bin Laden is still a free man.

The President had brought America to war with Iraq, Al Queida and most of the international community.

Even worse he brought Americans to war with each other.

Unfortunately for the president, the unpatriotic people who disagreed with his policies were also voting American citizens.

Thursday morning, Bush was on television promising to work together with Democrats to do what was in the best interest of the country.

Sorry, too little, too late.

Now he will face the wrath of the unpatriotic.