Definately the end of an era in Massachusetts

I was obviously not the only one who was surprised by Scott Brown's victory in the Massachusetts special election to replace Senator Edward Moore Kennedy in the US Senate. Martha Coakley must have done a really bad campaign after having had a 20 percent lead earlier in the race. Another reason could of course be that many people are disappointed with President Barack Obama's first year as President.

I am not sure if it is too healthy that one person or one party dominates for so long as Edward M. Kennedy and the Democratic Party have done in Massachusetts, so in this respect it might not be too bad that Scott Brown won the race, but it is a pity if this will affect the most needed health reform now as the Democrats' filibuster-proof dominance has ended.

It will be interesting to see how President Obama will handle this and other challenges in the next three years. It might be an uphill struggle with more disappointments. I don't think one can expect the Democrats to win back the filibuster-proof dominance (why on earth did they create this silly system anyway!?) in the fall, as the Republicans are expected to win back more seats in the Senate.

If the US electorate doesn't feel that the economy has improved when the presidential race takes place in 2012, I am pretty sure that Mitt Romney will take the oath on 20 January 2013...

• Massachusetts Senate Race 2010 (The Boston Globe)