'Just World News' with Helena Cobban

Allen concedes; Bolton toasted; other prospects

This afternoon, Sen. George Allen undertook possibly the most gracious act of his career and made a very civil, realistic speech conceding victory in our state's hard-fought Senatorial election to Democratic challenger (and now Senator-elect) Jim Webb.

Since Conrad Burns in Montana has also now conceded to his Democratic chellenger there, it is finally official: the Democrats have won the Senate as well as the House!!

Rumsfeld has already, as we know, been tossed from the GOP car as it screeches for the exits. The next casualty of the GOP defeat will most like be the controversial (idoelogical and acerbic) Ambassador to the UN, John Bolton. Bolton was appointed a couple of years back only as a not-requiring-confirmation "recess appointment" and need Senate confirmation now for his term to be renewed. But Sen. Joe Biden, expected to come in in January as chair of the Senate Foreign relatins Committee today said, “I think John Bolton’s going nowhere."

In addition, Democratic control of the senate is good news for all of us who've been worrying about the possibility of yet another Republican getting appointed to the Supreme Court. For example Justice John Paul Stevens, a long-time liberal voice on the bench, is now 86 years old and may need replacing within the next two years... Fewer worries about that, as from today...

Back to foreign affairs, though, let's hope that the rethinking of policy that results from Tuesday's election goes far beyond merely axing Bolton. Beyond that, the country's policymakers need to seriously rtethink the terms and nature of our relationships with the UN and, more broadly, with the whole of the rest of the world.

There have been some inklings of that happening, at least partially, from the "leaks" that have emenated so far from the "Iraq Study Group." (Of which, of course, the new nominee as SecDef, Robert Gates, has been a member.)

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the ISG that,

if the Dems win control of one or both houses of Congress come November 7 then winning bipartisan support for "the Baker plan" will become much, much more important. So any negotiations that go on among the ISG's members over the content of its final report will have to wait till after the post-election balance of political power is known...

Doubtless, that will now start happening. I actually think it's excellent that this vehicle for reforming the policy is already in place; that its members have already done most of their homework; and that they were chosen to be people with such strong support in the leaderships of both parties.

We the pro-peace, pro-human-equality citizenry will need to keep up our pressure for the kinds of fairminded, peaceable policies we want to see enacted... Today, I went along to our local peace demonstrationas usual. We still got some great response from the drivers-by....

Just one final note. Our local pro-peace Congressional cnadidate Al Weed sadly did not win election. On Tuesday, I did spend 40 minutes or so offering Democratic stickers to people exiting our local polling place (with the idea they should continue wearing them prominently on their lapels or whatever for the rest of the day.) Most people at our polling place were happy to take them! But there were a significant number of folks who took the "Webb" sticker while politely declining the "Weed" sticker. Too bad. Al is a good and wise man.

Our other bit of really sad news is that Virginians voted by quite a wide margin to embed into our state constitution some language that is extremely hostile not only to gay couples but also to any unmarried couples who might seek to conclude any form of civil contract that "imitates" the effects of marriage. Virginia already has laws that do this; but embedding this provision into the constitution is an even more serious business, and will make it much harder to pass laws friendly to civil unions in the future.

We have among our friends several gay couples who maintain relationships of great integrity, mutual support, love, and joy. Some of them have children in their families and have been giving them wonderful, strong homes. But the state is so hostile to these families, and threatenes them at every turn. I often fear for them; and now, the votes cast on this issue by my fellow Virginians reminds me yet again what a gay-hostile state we live in. So the news from Virginia this week is by no means all good...