Change is in the air. On Nov. 7, I went to Ned Lamont’s campaign headquarters in Meriden to cover the Senatorial Midterm Elections. A short time after 10 p.m., Lamont addressed the crowd to announce that he had come short in the election to former-Democrat-turned-Independent Joe Lieberman, who won the seat in the Senate. Despite his loss, Lamont seemed to be interestingly upbeat about the evening’s turn of events. In front of his many supporters, Lamont proclaimed that the Democratic Party, for the first time in 12 years, gained control of the United States House of Representatives. And, to make matters more amazing, the Democratic Party eventually gained control of the United States Senate as well. What does this mean for our country? It means that after over a decade of being in control by the Republicans, the Democrats now have the upper hand in our country’s game of politics.

But what contributed to their overall success in Tuesday’s midterm elections? As Lamont addressed the crowd about his aspirations of withdrawing American troops within two years and welcoming them home, it became clear to me that a majority of the country’s disapproval of the Iraqi war was key to the Democrats’ sweeping victory. However, we must wonder if the direct withdrawal of American soldiers is most wise given the current situation in Iraq. While the safe return of our soldiers to our country would be wonderful, it is clear that the job in restoring order in Iraq is not yet complete. Despite diplomacy being established, there is still internal conflict amongst the Shiites, the Kurds and the Sunnis. If we pull out our troops with the conflict still unresolved, then we could be faced with more dangerous bombings and possible terrorist attacks. Hopefully, with Lieberman re-elected to the Senate, there will be a slight level of balance in terms of protecting our country’s security in terms of the Iraq war.

To be fair, the Democratic Party had a significant amount of success in the midterm elections thanks in large part to their stance on different social issues that should, in fact, be implemented for the greater good of society. For starters, the Democratic Party intends to provide better health care for our country, such as establishing stem cell research and other advances in health care in order to maintain the well-being of our country. Also, the Democratic Party plans to establish better economic advances for our society, by lowering student loan payments as well as “making college tuition taxes deductible” and providing families with good-paying jobs, according to www.democrats.org. Finally, the Democratic Party hopes to integrate stronger codes of ethics and openness into our country’s government in order to better serve the American people.

However, let’s keep in mind that the Republican Party should not be underestimated. President Bush, his administration, as well as assorted Republicans are doing everything in their power to serve the public. Also, thanks to Alan Schlesinger, we can see that there are Republicans who are upfront about key issues, such as fixing the national debt and improving our country’s health care.

However, what matters now is that the Democrats have a majority in our country’s political realm. But, remember, all glory is fleeting and it will be known that someday in the coming years, the Republican Party will rise triumphantly again.