A mandate for cooperation and bipartisanship

We’ve known since the first rebuking of the GOP in the 2006 election that 2008 was going to be a Democratic year. We all knew the party of the right would lose some additional ground in the U.S. House and Senate. But, as the dust settles in New Mexico, it’s becoming clear that this was a complete slaughter.

Barack Obama won nearly 57 percent of the vote in a state that went to George Bush in 2004. Democrat Tom Udall took the retiring Republican Pete Domenici’s U.S. Senate seat with 61 percent of the vote. Democrats easily won all three U.S. House seats, picking up two that have been in GOP hands for decades.

A congressional delegation that currently includes three Republicans and two Democrats is going to be what the Dems call “true blue” in January.

The bloodbath didn’t end there. Republicans lost additional ground in the state House and Senate, which were already controlled by Democrats, with both chambers’ minority whips and even moderate Republicans among the casualties. With redistricting coming in 2011, it couldn’t have been any worse for Republicans in New Mexico.

The voters have spoken, but I don’t believe this was a mandate for the Democrats. It was a mandate for Obama’s promises of cooperation and bipartisanship, of treating each other with respect and dignity. It was a vote for the hope of a Washington that functions for the good of the American people.

Can Obama lead America to that reality, as he has promised? Time will tell. But, as Obama has said, getting there requires all Americans. It’s not something he can do by himself. It’s a challenge to all of us to work together so our nation can see better days.

John McCain has already stepped up to that challenge and put aside an incredibly nasty campaign of attacks that were sometimes based on lies. During his concession speech, McCain was a statesman and gentleman, saying he admired Obama’s ability to inspire millions of new voters, wishing him Godspeed and calling him “my president.”

Many of McCain’s supporters who were present for his speech didn’t display that same respect for the will of the American people. Many booed when McCain congratulated Obama and every time he spoke graciously about the president-elect or Joe Biden.

The first time it happened, McCain cut them off.

“Please,” he said, raising his arms in the air to silence the crowd. McCain repeatedly tried to stop the booing, but it didn’t work.

I fear that people like that won’t be willing to unite to solve our nation’s problems. I similarly worry about those to whom the power has been given: the Democrats who now control everything in Washington.

One-party control is dangerous. Though the Dems have been given an almost unthinkable majority, they need to recognize that the American people want the pendulum to rest in the middle. They want cooperation. They want Washington to solve the myriad of crises that threaten us today and loom on the horizon.

The New Mexico delegation must be a part of that. The Democratic freshmen will be led by veteran Sen. Jeff Bingaman, chairman of the energy committee and one who will work with Obama in the next few years to lead the way toward energy independence. Bingaman is a true statesman who treats political opponents with respect. The newbies would be wise to follow his lead, just as McCain’s supporters would be wise to follow the example the Arizona senator set on Tuesday night.