The thorough slapping that Democrats received from the American electorate Nov. 2 has been much discussed and needs no rehashing. What we could use, however, is a look at the bright side — with one eye pointed toward the future and another looking back at the election.
1. Barack Obama: The Illinois senator-elect has a mix of charisma and gravitas that has national Democratic leaders peeing their pants. Obama is smart, funny and about as liberal as a national figure comes these days. Obama was an Illinois state senator and a University of Chicago Law professor before he embarrassed Maryland carpetbagger Alan Keyes on Nov. 2 by carrying 70 percent of the vote. To top it off, he’s a family man, with a 14-year marriage and two young daughters, and he has a great life story. Liberal Democrats like his populism and his opposition to the war in Iraq. But the best thing about Obama is that he’s only 43 years old and has a long time to gain experience in Washington, DC before his inevitable run for president. Let Hillary have 2008; the future beyond belongs to Obama.
2. Hillary Clinton: Next to the president, Clinton is perhaps the most polarizing figure in American politics. Democrats (especially women) love her; conservatives think she’s the devil incarnate. But just as Obama represents the best chance for a black president in the near future, Clinton has a real shot of becoming America’s first woman president.
Hillary’s case: She brings to the table name recognition, connections and a vast pool of donors. She has fought and beaten the “vast right-wing conspiracy,” as she famously put it, and has a passion for health care. Perhaps most importantly, Clinton has worked since 2000 in support of reproductive rights, environmental protections and education as a rather prominent junior senator from the state of New York.
3. John Edwards: Like Obama, Edwards has a thin political résumé but has shot to the upper reaches of his party thanks to charisma. It sells Edwards short, however, to say he’s a pretty face and nothing more. Edwards is one of few Democrats in recent years to have convincingly articulated a populist message, which is the only way Democrats can hope to win back the White House if the country’s conservative mood on social issues persists. His “two Americas” speech caught fire on the campaign trail, catapulting Edwards from a curiosity to a serious contender during the Iowa caucuses. He is a real hope for 2008.
4. Peter DeFazio: As baseball manager Leo Durocher once said of Willie Mays, “If he could cook, I’d marry him.” We’re lucky to have DeFazio, and judging by his election returns over the last 18 years, we know it. He’s a fighting Oregon liberal in the tradition of Wayne Morse and he does everything he can for his district, from supporting dredging coastal ports to getting more than $1 million out of federal coffers for the Eugene Airport. He’s also famously responsive to his constituents. To top it off, he’s a Duck alumnus. What’s not to like?
5. Kitty Piercy and the Eugene City Council: Eugene voters bucked the national trend this year, voting Democrats and liberals in and Republicans and conservatives out. After eight years under Mayor Jim Torrey, Eugene finally has a chance to see what local liberals can accomplish with real power in their hands. Hopefully, this will mean more land conservation and less sprawl. While conservatives fretted that a liberal-leaning city government would lead to an economic downturn, Torrey’s regime saw the Sony disc manufacturing plant close, and Lane County’s unemployment rate is still above 6.5 percent, despite recent improvement. As the saying goes, “If you want to live like a Republican, vote Democrat.”
6. Russ Feingold: We need more senators like the 51-year-old gentleman from Wisconsin who won re-election Nov. 2 to a third term in the U.S. Senate. He was the only senator to vote against the USA PATRIOT Act, courageously standing up to 96 yea votes and abundant cowardice among his colleagues in the wake of President Bush’s post-9/11 surge in popularity. Feingold also opposed the war in Iraq, has worked to pass some of the 9/11 commission’s recommendations and co-authored the famous McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill.

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