Subpoena Power, Baby!

My biggest concern is that last night's Democratic victory will be mostly symbolic. I mean, if they live up to their reputation of being feckless weenies, there will ultimately be no point to this victory. But hell, I'll take whatever victory I can get these days, even a symbolic one.

I'll allow myself to focus on the positive for a moment. The Senate is still undecided, but even if that ends up going Republican, the Democrats now have subpoena power in the House. And the chairfolks of some of those powerful committees are pretty progressive. Charles Rangel on House Ways & Means. Barney Frank on Finance. Henry Waxman on Government Reform. If these three men live up to their reputations (and obligations), they might just insist that the Bush administration is held accountable for the many disasters of the past six years. Oh, that's a tasty prospect.

And a special shout-out to Nancy Pelosi, first female Speaker of the House. Nice job, lady. You're third in line for the Presidency. I've got only one complaint about you as Speaker. You're too svelte. Not "fat cat" enough. You need more jowls. See Dennis Hastert for direction.