The atmosphere in Washington today is very different from it was four years ago. Then, everyone was on tenterhooks. Today, I haven’t spoken to a single person who thinks the result is in doubt (and that includes several McCain supporters). The conversation has moved on to Obama’s appointments, the future of the GOP and whether Obama is winning what amounts to a two-term mandate.
One thing worth thinking about is how Obama will handle a Democratic Congress with comfortable Democratic majorities in both chambers. For instance, the rationale for Obama’s health care plan—which is not universal in the way that the one Hillary presented was—was that it stood a better chance of being passed. Now, if the Democrats get close to the magic 60 in the Senate, there’ll be pressure to move towards a more ambitious scheme. Stopping Democratic overreach will be one of Obama’s key tasks. If he appoints Rahm Emanuel, the hard-charging Clinton White House aide who became a Congressman and the architect of the Democrats’ 2006 House gains, it’ll be a sign that Obama is alert to this problem.
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