President Bush, facing the worst defeat of his presidency, is also now facing the worst approval numbers during his first 6 years. Just 31% of American's polled are satisfied with his performance, a clear reason why Republicans in Congress were voted out of power last week.

Now that Democrats are able to keep the president in check, Americans want them to do so, but with moderation. Poll results show that they want the Dems to be centrists, not extreme leftists. That could be hard, as new Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi is widely seen as a leftist.

Perhaps the biggest mistake liberals have made in the past is trying to fight the religious right and the other far right conservatives with leftist politics just as far away from center. Let's face it, Al Gore lost in 2000 because he was not able to sway enough liberals away from Green Party candidate Ralph Nader. Nader supporters, including myself, saw Gore as too much like George W. Bush, and not liberal enough. That was a mistake. I would much rather have lived the past 6 years under a populist like Al Gore than under George W. Bush and his neo-cons.
NEWSWEEK Poll: Bush Hits New Low - Newsweek Politics - MSNBC.com