With Democrats gaining control of the House and, depending on the final outcome of close races, perhaps the Senate, they must use their majority to look forward, not backward. While there will be strong temptation to emphasize investigations into pre-war intelligence and energy policy negotiations, putting their efforts into lowering prescription drug prices, decreasing the deficit and developing a sophisticated policy for the country’s future involvement in Iraq will better serve the public, Democrats and Congress as a whole.

As vote tallies were being finalized Wednesday, it was clear that Democrats picked up at least 28 seats in the House of Representatives, gaining control of the chamber for the first time in 12 years. It will be the first time Maine Reps. Mike Michaud and Tom Allen are part of the majority. If the Senate splits 50-50, Vice President Dick Cheney would cast tie-breaking votes, effectively leaving the chamber in Republican control.

“Democrats need to stay focused on the issues and work together,” Rep. Michaud said. As he also said, there will be much emphasis on accountability. The Republican Congress largely rolled over on many critical issues, such as the war in Iraq, the Patriot Act and domestic wiretapping, allowing the Bush administration to do what it wanted without questions or oversight from Congress. While Democrats will no doubt call for more accountability from the White House, they also must remain accountable to voters by focusing on important legislation.

Nationally, the ballot became a way to voice displeasure with President Bush and the increasingly unpopular war in Iraq, which led to Wednesday’s resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Exit polls found that 8 in 10 voters who said they approved of the war in Iraq voted Republican, and 8 in 10 voters who said they disapproved voted Democratic. Fifty-five percent of voters said the country is seriously on the wrong track. Of them, 79 percent voted Dem-ocratic while only 20 percent of those who thought the country was going in the right direction voted Democratic.

Despite the widespread support for Democratic candidates, many of the newly elected members of Congress are more conservative than their party colleagues already in Washington. This will challenge party leaders to moderate their agenda but also provides an opportunity for Democrats to work with Republicans, although their numbers also shrank.

During press conferences Wednesday, both President Bush and House Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi talked repeatedly of bipartisanship, integrity and working together.

These are good sentiments. Putting them into action will not be easy, but is necessary to move forward on Iraq and other issues.