If you thought democracy was slow to act, you might be surprised by the sweeping changes already taking place in the United States. Democrats haven’t wasted any time keeping campaign promises.

  • Barbara Boxer, newly elected head of the congressional environmental committee, promises to fight global warming. Unlike her predecessor, who blocked greenhouse gas regulations on the basis that global warming was a big hoax.
  • Keith Ellison was elected in Minnesota, becoming the first Muslim elected to U.S. Congress. He didn’t make religion an issue in his campaign, and his views are more liberal than most Muslims, but while he’s settling into his new office, Dick Cheney is getting evicted from his.
  • John Bolton, the U.S. ambassador who’s never believed in diplomacy as a solution, is going to be replaced. This was a no-brainer. The man believed the UN was obsolete and should be dismantled. No wonder he wasn’t invited to UN office parties.
  • And of course, the biggest story was Donald Rumsfeld’s resignation. In a surprising peace offering, Bush served the head of the Secretary of Defense to the Democrats on a silver platter. We can only guess what will become of Rumsfeld, but his replacement is sure to change many of his policies.

See? Democracy does work.