Credit:White House Photo by Eric Draper

The outcome of over 200 measures that were also voted on Nov. 7 suggests the president is down, but not his party.

Gabriela Perdomo - Among Democrats, there was joy. The morning after the mid-term election, Virginia's James Webb had beaten Republican incumbent George Allen, assuring a Democrat majority in the Senate and in Congress overall for the first time in twelve years. It was an obvious defeat for Republicans, acknowledged by the president himself, who actually went on to say he bore "some responsibility" for his party's loss.

Indeed, there is little doubt that the Democratic grab of Congress was directly related to the president's decreasing popularity. That is certainly a reason for Republicans to worry, but not only them. The fact that the mid-term election was so emotionally tied to George W. Bush suggests people want change—clearly in everything concerning the war in Iraq—but not necessarily a change led by Democrats. Besides the process to renew the House of Representatives and elect a third of the Senate, another 204 ballot initiatives were voted in 37 states on Nov.7. Results from these elections suggest that when it comes to voting on particular issues Americans are still closer to conservative values—something to keep in mind for the 2008 presidential election.

The nation's voting spree—which included a proposal to offer a $1 million U.S. prize to a random voter on each general election to promote turnout, which was defeated in Arizona—put for voter's consideration issues ranging from same-sex marriage to affirmative action, stem cell research and abortion.

Same-sex marriage was the loser of the day. Measures to ban it passed in seven out of the eight states where it was proposed, adding up to the other 20 states where these unions had been banned before. Moreover, voters in Colorado refused a proposal to establish domestic partnerships, which would have allowed same-sex couples to enjoy similar legal rights and responsibilities as married couples without challenging the concept of marriage itself. Surprisingly enough, Arizonians voted against the same-sex marriage ban. Still, the measure was defeated by a slight margin of 51 per cent to 49 per cent. Affirmative Action, another liberal banner, was abolished in Michigan by a 16-point margin (although many blame this outcome on the tricky way the question was asked).

Abortion was widely seen as a liberal victory over radical conservatives who wanted to bring back punitive legislation and even challenge previous Supreme Court rulings at the federal level. 56 per cent of voters in the usually conservative South Dakota defeated a radical proposal that sought to ban almost all types of abortion, including in cases of incest or rape, but the number of people voting conservative on this matter is still significant. In California and Oregon, measures that would have forced physicians to notify parents before practicing an abortion to a girl under the age of 18 did not pass, but were still supported by 46 per cent of voters in both states.

Democrats celebrated the passing of a measure in favour of stem cell research funding in Missouri. But the victory was tight, with only 48,000 votes separating the two camps. The use of medical marijuana was yet another liberal defeat. A proposal to allow it was rejected in South Dakota—52 per cent to 48 per cent—while legalizing its possession was also rejected in Colorado, 60 to 40, and Nevada, 56 to 44.

Many political analysts believe that beyond the victorious headlines that congratulated the Democrats lies the fact that these elections actually proved that America is still a very conservative nation. Some underline the fact that the Democrats took over Congress mainly thanks to social-conservative candidates who were able to take down moderate Republicans. It is the case of North Carolina's Heath Shuler, an anti-abortion, pro-gun Democrat who was elected to the House of Representatives.

Ahead of the 2008 presidential election, there is plenty to ponder. According to the last survey by Opinion Research Corporation, Republican Arizona senator John McCain, a potential candidate, holds a slight lead—which falls within the margin of error—over three potential Democratic hopefuls: New York senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Illinois senator Barack Obama and Massachusetts senator John Kerry. The same survey shows that if the GOP candidate were former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, he would be tied with Clinton, but would defeat Obama and Kerry by a wide margin.

Nov. 7 was surely a triumphant date for the Democrats, but it also showed that besides the feeling of dissatisfaction with the ongoing war in Iraq, which plays in their favour, the Democrats are not in a better position to win the presidency than they were two years ago.

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