Facing the awful, or better-discribed, horrible vision of the war in Iraq, American voters opted for another, more attractive path. In politics, as in personal relationships, when things go wrong someone or somewhere else may seem more appealing.
And things in Iraq are turning out very badly. That's why American voters chose to go the other way _ to the Democratic Party.
In the United States we are seeing the beginning of a new era. There will be no more new wars in the next two years. And that's saying a lot.
The Democratic Party, which will control the House and the Senate, will never give President George W. Bush the authority to start another war. Not against Iran, nor against North Korea _ not against anyone. Many democrats ended up with their reputations in tatters for having given Bush unconditional support for invading Iraq: they will not make that mistake again.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's resignation puts an end to the pre-eminence of the hawks, marking the beginning of the era of investigations. Or era of revenge. The new Congress under the Democrats will undoubtedly investigate why the war was initiated in the first place and under false pretenses and why the number of troops sent were never enough to win the peace.
In spite of the repeated appeals for bipartisanship, the first jabs didn't take long to emerge. Nancy Pelosi, the first woman in history to become leader of the House, has already called Bush "incompetent" and "dangerous." I doubt her opinion about the president will change much in the next weeks.
Nevertheless, one of the few topics on which both parties can work together in the next two years is the thorny immigration issue.
Democrats have been more willing than Republicans to consider legalizing the status of 12 million undocumented immigrants, as well as granting work permits to the half million foreigners who arrive illegally every year. Now, the Democrats are the ones to push through real immigration reform.
The first thing Democrats can do is tear down the paper wall. They can block any resources earmarked for constructing the 700-mile barrier between Mexico and the United States.
And secondly, Bush's sincerity will be put to the test. If he really wants immigration reform _ as he said after his recent meeting with Mexican President-elect Felipe Calderon _ now is the time to prove it.
When they approved the construction of the wall, the Hispanic vote, that Bush and the Republicans had won over in the 2000 and 2004 elections, was trashed. In these election, seven out of 10 Hispanics voted Democrat. In life, everything has a price.
Hispanics are the fastest-growing electoral group in the United States, and most of them want immigration reform. Any politician refusing to recognize that fact will also pay the consequences in the 2008 presidential election.
The Democrats' victory should be seen as good news for Felipe Calderon. He will have a lot of allies that, sadly, President Vicente Fox lacked. Similarly, his message about the need for Mexico to create more and better jobs to keep Mexicans from going north will sit well in the United States. Beggars are disdained, and Calderon knows it.
With the help of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Bush and the Democrats can change the nation's obsolete immigration laws starting in January. That will be the litmus test.
If members of the Democratic Party and Bush want to work together, their work is cut out for them. After terrorism, there is no issue more relevant in America than immigration. Immigrants are already changing the face and voice of this country. What really matters now is that their work and efforts be recognized. That's all.
We shouldn't, however, equate a Democratic victory in Congress with a radical change in the anti-immigrant attitude of many Americans. In Arizona, for example, voters approved four proposals against immigrants, including one that makes English the state's official language (whatever for?), and one prohibiting undocumented young people from attending public universities and colleges (shameful!).
In spite of that resistance, winds of change are blowing in America. No one knows how the democrats will go about extricating the United States from Iraq. Or how they will achieve immigration reform. But they will be ones setting the tune.