Yes, Virginia

Yes, Virginia - The Boston Globe: "THERE IS a Democratic Party. That was the welcome message from Virginia and a few other states on Tuesday. The success of the Democratic candidates for governor in Virginia and New Jersey in particular raises a hope that Washington may once again become a two-party city with a healthier balance of power.

Of course, there is a long way to go for Democrats to take control of the House next year, and there are even longer odds against a Democratic majority in the Senate. Still, the Republican Party's recent difficulties were deepened on Tuesday.

President Bush deserves credit for showing the courage, directly on returning from a disappointing South American trip, to go to Richmond Monday night to campaign for Jerry Kilgore, the Republican candidate, who had refused to stand beside Bush when he gave a speech in Virginia on the day Lewis Libby was indicted. Perhaps Bush felt that, with the tide of news running so heavily against him in recent weeks, the chance that he might be credited with a positive coattail effect outweighed the risk of another defeat. Some analysts suggested, however, that, while his appearance may have rallied some Republicans, it might also have inspired more Bush opponents to turn out for the Democrat, Lieutenant Governor Tim Kaine, who won in a state that usually votes Republican.

Elsewhere, New Jersey chose Democratic Senator John Corzine to become its next governor by a larger than expected margin. And California's Republican governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, suffered an embarrassing setback when four ballot questions he supported were all defeated soundly.

As usual, results varied. Maine voters affirmed the state's gay rights law, while Texans amended their state constitution to ban gay marriage.

But liberals were out in force in California. The state rejected a ballot question that would have required girls under 18 to notify their parents before having an abortion. And San Francisco residents voted to ban the ownership of handguns and the sale of any firearm or ammunition in the city.

Voters in Dover, Pa., ousted all eight Republican school board members who supported classroom references to intelligent design, proving themselves better models than the Kansas state Board of Education, which voted the same day to promote it.

Unfortunately, efforts to create more-competitive congressional districts by taking some of the politics out of the map-drawing process lost in both Ohio and California. But the overall results Tuesday sent an encouraging signal that competition between the parties is on the way."