It’s kind of nice to win for a change

There's a scene in the pilot episode of “The West Wing” when Leo McGarry, the White House chief of staff, is talking with a religious leader. A White House staffer had made a rather insulting comment on a talk show the previous day, which the reverend felt demonized the entire Religious Right.

“Your group has plenty of demons,” says McGarry, to which the reverend replies that every group has its share of demons.

“You don't have to tell me about it, Reverend,” McGarry replies. “I'm a member of the Democratic Party.”

I, too, am a Democrat. There's no two ways about it. I'm a bluestater living in the reddest of states, which can sometimes be a bit of a lonely feeling.

When Bill Clinton was re-elected to a second term in office, I was just becoming politically conscious, and I didn't have an emotional investment in the outcome outside of a general feeling of satisfaction. So for me, Tuesday, Nov. 7, qualifies as my first “win.”

I've got to say, it's a nice feeling not being the rabble-rousing underdog for a change. Finally, my party is in a position to make a difference, affect some change and stir the pot for a little while.

But to hear Republicans tell it, this wasn't as much a win for Democrats as it was a loss for them.

You have to admire those guys: Most people wait at least a couple of years before they rewrite history.

There's a saying that, “all politics is local.” Ultimately, many people believe, voters aren't swayed by national opinion but by what is happening in their own backyard. In this election, there was no national office. Democrats, however, went against the conventional political wisdom and ran on a national strategy of corruption, the war in Iraq and terrorism. The Democratic strategy of focusing solely on national issues was dangerous and radical.

And it worked.

CNN's exit polling showed that corruption, terrorism, the war in Iraq and the economy — in that order — were the top reasons for the Democratic win.

There is no doubt that the Republicans helped the Democrats out on multiple occasions. Mark Foley and the congressional page scandal; Ted Haggard, the evangelical leader, and his methamphetamine- driven gay-sex scandal; Jack Abramoff and Tom Delay all gave Democrats the ammunition they needed to point out systematic and systemic corruption. The worsening war in Iraq, combined with the lack of any discernible strategy to make things better, also hurt the Republicans.

But credit the Democrats for nationalizing this strategy. While the Republicans were shooting themselves in the foot, the Democrats were holding up the X-rays on national television.

Sometimes, a politician wins an election because they are the better candidate. Sometimes they win because they are better campaigners. Sometimes they win because the other guy stumbles at the last minute.

I know how to recognize a win, and I definitely know how to recognize a loss.

After all, I'm a member of the Democratic Party. This was a win.

—Dylan Biles is editor of the News- Register and a journalism major.