Before the tragic terrorist events that hit our country on September 11, the partisan bickering on Capitol Hill reached an all time high.  The Bush budget was at the eye of the storm, and compromise was nowhere in sight.
 
    The Democrats led by Senator Puff Daschle and Little Dick Gephardt were outright enraged about the idea of dipping into the Social Security Surplus.  There was a lock box on it and no one could touch it.  The Democrats claimed that President Bush ruined the economy in just a little over six months in office by turning back the positive economic successes of the Clinton administration to a time of huge deficits.  They did forget to mention that the economy turned sour while Bill Clinton was still in office, and more importantly they forgot to mention that while the Democrats were in control they dipped into the ìlock boxî for over forty years.
 
    On top of that, Senator ìJumpingî Jim Jeffords didnít help the situation when he decided to jump ship from the Republican Party to become an ìIndependent.î  Because of this move the Democrats re-gained control of the Senate where Senators such as Robert ìSheetsî Byrd and Senator Hillary ìfingerprintsî Clinton could easily put a halt to anything the Bush administration wanted to accomplish.  ìTax-Cutter for the Richî Trent Lott cried foul because he was no longer in power and could not set the agenda, but more importantly he did not want to move out of his luxurious Senate Majority Office.  ìOut of Touch with Realityî Jesse Helms sobbed like a baby because he felt that losing control of the Senate was worse than eight years of Bill Clinton.  Finger pointing and name calling on both sides of the aisle invaded Capitol Hill and compromise was again nowhere in sight.

I hope that the gang on Capitol Hill remembers what it feels like to be simply united, not as Republicans or Democrats, rather just as Americans.

     September 11, 2001 was a day of infamy in the United States of America.  Our daily lives as we know them will never be the same.
 
    As far as the gang on Capitol Hill their eyes were abruptly opened.  The pettiness of bickering and fighting ceased, and unity and compromise set in.
 
    Today we see images of President George W. Bush and Senator Charles Schumer embracing one another.  We hear leaders such as Senator Hillary Clinton complimenting President Bush on his leadership and inspiration.
 
    Sadly, it took a national tragedy for Americans and their political leaders to unite.  I hope weíve all learned a lesson from this, and I hope that the gang on Capitol Hill remembers what it feels like to be simply united, not as Republicans or Democrats, rather just as Americans.  Let the lock box of unity be open to all.