Will the Democrats use power wisely?

So now that the elections are over there's talk about troop withdrawals in the coming months, the leading anti-war spokesman in Washington is being touted as the new Senate leader and Hillary says to get ready for universal health care that will cost most taxpayers a ton of money to pay for non-

taxpayers.

Let the games begin.

I'm personally sick of politics at this very moment. I'm sick of dissecting the election, of mourning the losses and wondering what shoe will fall next. I recognize, like the rest of you, I have not one ounce of influence over the national stage and that decisions that will greatly impact my life and those of future generations is now in the hands of people with whom I have great disagreements.

So let's say we begin to withdraw forces and Iraq basically goes to hell in a handbasket. Civil war erupts and hundreds of thousands die. In the meanwhile, Iran and Syria - and perhaps others - go full steam ahead with the development of nuclear weapons. That time frame could be measured in months, not years.

So we wake up one day and some terrorists sets off a nuclear device in New York and another in Los Angeles. We don't even want to discuss the death toll.

So what do we do then? Send troops back to the Mideast to level the nuclear plants? And just how long would that take?

The preceding question is not out of some science fiction book but rather a realistic look at what may lie ahead. The leading terrorist in the Mideast last week said the eventual goal was to burn the White House, which means to disrupt the American system of government and create chaos in this nation similar to that which envelopes the Mideast.

Those who harbor resentment for the war - including myself - have full justification to yearn for an end game to this mess. But first and foremost, we'd better have a plan to address the root causes of the problem. When you add the potential for a nuclear device to the recipe, you change all of the rules.

Murtha and Clinton and Pelosi and company are in control. They hold the purse strings and the majority power in Washington. My advice is not to regret their ascension to power but rather to pray for their wisdom. The stakes are far too high right now for partisanship. Michael Jensen