Burden of leadership; Obama needs Congress, people to bring real change.

COLUMN: IN OUR OPINION

It is tempting to conclude that Tuesday's decisive win by Sen. Barack H. Obama signals a new era of cooperation and progress in Washington, including an end to years of bipartisan bickering and virtual gridlock in the House and Senate. But such a result is far from certain, and will depend largely upon the quality of leadership that Mr. Obama can provide.

American voters on Tuesday once again returned most incumbents to Washington. Democrats used anti-Bush sentiments to unseat incumbent senators in New Hampshire and North Carolina, part of a five-member shift in the Senate, and picked up more than 15 seats in the House, but neither majority gives them a lock on legislative procedures.

Does the election of Mr. Obama on a pledge of real change mean our overriding national concerns - war, the economy, health care, energy and government debt - will finally be addressed seriously, and perhaps resolved?

It could happen. Americans of all political persuasions clearly share the hope that Congress will move away from the years of gridlock and groupthink that have produced bloated budgets while failing in many respects to effectively come to grips with the nation's most pressing domestic concerns or make the United States a more welcome presence on the world stage.

Americans of all ideological stripes share the belief that we are better than all that. Congress changes but slowly, so the burden of leadership necessarily will fall on the broad, but untested political shoulders of Mr. Obama. We wish him and his administration well, and urge Congress and the people to give him the opportunity to forge a more hopeful future for the nation.