So, what do you guys think? A positive change or a negative turn of events? What do you think the Democrats will do first?

Personally, despite my right-wing preferences I almost sort of welcome the Democrats in. A chance to show me and the rest of America if/what they can do better than the Republicans. After all, I don't go by party basis, and I'm proud of that. (Independent al lthe way!) As to what they will do first? I heard they want to pass a bill further restricting lobbyists. So far so good.

I'm OK with being more restrictive on lobbying, raising the minimum wage and extending congressional working hours, all of which the Dems have said they plan to do. I'm also interested to see how Nancy Pelosi handles her new position - she's one of the most liberal members of Congress, but if she wants to keep her flock happy, she's going to have to remember that a very large portion of the newly elected Democrats are much more conservative than she is (which is the only way they were elected over Republican incumbents) or she's not going to have a unified majority, which is a death sentence for the programs she's trying to push.

Personally I hate Nanci Pelosi. I just pray the more "conservative" dems can keep her in check, or next thing you know we'll have nationalized gay marriage and government abortion clinics. I know this sounds a little extreme, as it clearly is, but you get my point.

Oh, I hate her too, but she's not an idiot. In fact, to get as far as she has, there's not a doubt in my mind that she's in fact very intelligent and acutely aware of how tenuous the Democratic majority is (not quite as razor-thin as in the Senate, but still quite delicate). I am interested to see how things progress with the current setup.

I'm hoping that the Democratic sound and fury about leaving Iraq immediately was mostly election-boosting bluster; they certainly seem bent on turning the whole thing into a failure. Apparently dissatisfaction with the Iraq situation was one of the BIG issues in the recent election; while I'm glad to see that we now have a Congress with a mind to change course, I'm a little worried about what that course will be.

Getting a taste of being in the minority will certainly be good for Republicans, who seem to have decided lately that everything they stood for was too much bother to mess with.

I agree with Orborde. It's never good for one party to get Majority too long. They get cocky. Still, I am optimistic. I want to see what the Democrats can present.

I too look forward to what the Dems are going to do, but here is the first BIG test:

Today, a small militia of ARMED Mexican druglords attacked a post of a small number of UNARMED National guardsmen. In my opinion, the Congress should pass bills alowing for several more armed guardsmen there as well as a physical barrier at the border (an 8 ft. fence apparently does not suffice). But how will the new Dem Congress react? Only time will tell. If they react quickly and effectively, they'll have already won me over.