Dave sez: "We've hit as significant a reset button, it seems, as 9-11 for world politics". 
There's two ways of interpreting this. "We've [the United States] hit as significant a reset button [for US politics]... as 9-11 [was] for world politics". If that is the correct interpretation, then it's bang on. If it's "We've hit as significant a reset button [for world politics]... as 9-11 [was] for world politics".
Let's be clear. This change is important, but one should be cautious not to think that it's importance is universal.
It's important for British politics, but I think that Blair's departure next year will be of more importance to British politics long term (and Brown getting trounced by the Tories in the next general election being even more important).
When you look at it from the perspective of European politics, the change in the American legislature will be less important. It'll provide a few of the countries who have either opposed the war since the start (ie. France, Germany) with a reason to pat themselves on the back - and it'll probably mean that relationships between the U.S. and Spain will improve.
If the Democrats have any guts, hopefully, it'll be a change for Chinese politics. Imagine if they suddenly had to face up to their human rights requirements. If the U.S. decided to demand that China stop the systematic torture and organ harvesting of Falun Gong practitioners - and backed it up with severe Federal penalties for U.S. citizens buying the harvested organs (of course, the UK and other European nations should do similarly), that'd perhaps give the world something to think about.
Here's what I'm hoping for from the Democratic victory - a saner policy towards Iraq, a dramatic reduction in the amount of social conservative crapola (that means creationism, anti-abortionism, anti-gay craziness etc.) and better acknowledgement of human rights and civil liberties around the world.
If the above analysis is correct, why I have I been writing about the U.S. elections? Because it's important to me. I want to live in the United States and get a green card. The place is important to me. That's why I write about it.
