Park Slopers are reacting with joy to the results from last week’s mid-term elections. At a dinner party on Saturday night someone said, "After the elections we have so much more in common with the rest of the country."

Who said that? It might have been me.

A palpable feeling of relief, the elections make Park Slopers feel like there’s real consensus about the mess in Iraq.

In a cab yesterday, returning home from Louis and Capathia’s show at Joe’s Pub, a friend said that her heart breaks for the family members of those soldiers who’ve died in Iraq. How can they live with that pain? she asked out loud.

Indeed, Americans collectively mourn the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives (civilian and military) and fear for the lives of the troops in Iraq, as well as the lives of innocent civilians.

In the cab, we also discussed how we heard the cheering news of Rumsfeld’s resignation. That event in tandem with the election results was a double whammy. News of his resignation spread through the city like wild fire. An actress friend heard the news over headphones just before the Wednesday matinee performance of a Broadway play. "Rumsfield has resigned," the stage manager told those who were listening. The night before, that same stage manager was delivering state-by-state results to the actors and tech crew.

I heard about it during the Leonard Lopate show on WNYC during my work shift at the Food Coop. Where were you when you heard that Rumsfeld resigned?

There’s a feeling of unity that hasn’t been felt since the weeks after 9/11. Even the Europeans must be relieved that the American public has spoken and have expressed their dissatisfaction with Bush’s policies in Iraq loud and clear.

For the first time in years, Park Slopers and the rest of America can feel proud to be American.  Let’s see what happens next. Hopefully this consensus will mean that peaceful decisions are made that make the world a better and less deadly place. Please.