ABC News notes: "The Republicans' victory in the House will mark only the third time in 50 years that control of the chamber has changed hands."

A telling comment. It is, of course, also the third time the House has changed hands in 16 years.  Other than the long period between the Second World War and 1994, it was much more common for control of the House to change.  Other than the post-War era, our media was also more diverse and splintered than it was during the age of three networks and one or two national newspapers.  It looks like we're heading back that way.  (We also used to have major financial panics every twenty years or so).

That a reporter for ABC used the 50 year comparison says alot about how so many of us see things.  Most voters, pundits, and politicians spent many years in the solid-state, post-war world of politics that we forget that it was the anamoly in U.S. history.  Historically, our politics has often been marked by considerable flux. Perhaps we're just moving back to normal.