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THIS PIECE WAS PUBLISHED IN A LOCAL NEWSPAPER ON JANUARY 29, 2010

As I sit and listen to the incredible news as it unfolds, my mind wanders back to that historic night in November, 2008. I was so certain of what that night meant and what it foretold. I was wrong then, and I wonder if I am wrong now about the meaning and effect of the loss of Ted Kennedy's old seat. Have the Democrats lost control, or are they merely being given a very loud wake-up call?

If there is one thing I have learned in the last 14 months, it is that trying to predict the future based on the present can be a very tricky concept. Wasn't the Republican party a dinosaur headed for extinction? Weren't the remaining zealots a laughingstock and not worthy of continued acknowledgment?

The Democrats have failed miserably at reminding the public that they inherited a disaster caused by monumental errors, both foreign and domestic, of a Republican President and Congress. They have failed to remind us that the Republicans do not offer solutions, but merely obstruct the mechanisms of effective government. With all due opportunity, the Democrats have failed to silence the opposition and have instead allowed them to direct the dialogue.

But let's see where the days and months ahead lead us. Health care reform, unemployment, Afghanistan, regulatory changes in the credit and banking industries all present continued chances for the Democratic party to assert itself. It is abundantly clear that steps taken by them will have to be taken alone. If the party has neither the nerve or the political wherewithal to put its mouth where the money is, then bad times for all of us, and undoubtedly for the party, may well continue unabated.