The country came to its senses last Tuesday, after a seven-year famine in our politics. The worst in our nature showed up in vulgar, violent and virulent former President Donald Trump.

The hard-fought congressional midterms are a turning point in our civil strife. Election Day delivered a crystal-clear verdict from the American people: democracy matters. (More than gas prices.)

Please, sir, more fair and square democracy and decency.

That’s what President Biden brings to the table. We keep hearing how unpopular he is, but “Joe” is a hard guy not to like, with a steady hand on the tiller.

Bonhomie works for me.

The improbable dream of Democrats keeping the Senate chamber blue came true before our eyes. The impossible dream of a Democratic House of Representatives victory hangs in the air.

America has plenty to be thankful for on Thanksgiving Thursday.

The majority of voters told us the Trump Republican party’s over now. Most of his hand-picked radical Right candidates lost in a rebuke to the bitter, twice-impeached ex-president.

Now he’s the madman in the attic.

Can a seven-year era of good times and feelings begin now? We are not enemies, but friends, as Abraham Lincoln pleaded in an inaugural address.

The so-called “red wave” that fooled pundits was dishonest Republican rumors and polls, disinformation the press bought wholesale. (Not me, ma’am.)

This time, their Big Lie spread before Election Day. There was never a red wave, to be clear. Every Democrat knew they had a fighting chance to win their own races. Candidates were energized by the extreme Supreme Court decision to strike down reproductive rights in June.

University students and suburban women were furious at the nerve of Trump’s trio of icy young justices. They dared to take life, liberty and health choices away, joining senior members for a bombshell majority opinion.

The “Extreme Supremes” are under scrutiny as part of a working democracy. Chief Justice John Roberts says the 6-3 high court should not care if rulings go against the current of popular opinion.

Roberts could not be more wrong.

Six unelected hard-Right Republicans — six! — should not be the boss of 300 million of us. Social progress is the Court’s hallmark in sunny days. The legitimacy of the Roberts court is in trouble.

Voters also rejected the political violence Trump espoused. Everyone but him and the 30,000-strong throng that stormed the Capitol knew how terribly wrong that was. Oath Keepers are standing trial now for sedition, facing 20 years behind bars.

The chilling Jan. 6 trauma took time to get over, especially for those of us stuck in the siege.

Further, what turned minds in election season was the brutal hammer attack on Paul Pelosi at home in the dead of night.

We did not want to be that country.

Trump running for president is a great gift to the Democratic party. Send the man a buttery thank-you note.

Republicans know this as they flee for cover from his coarse brand. But the vast swath of slavish Republicans cutting their red ties to him need to go through a “deTrumpification” process.

Victory is sweet, literally. I bet a box of chocolates on a blue Senate.

Yet at least two deserve a box of schadenfreude.

Californian Kevin McCarthy, the House Republican leader, foolishly bragged about surfing to the speakership before the votes were in. Knives are out for him now. He sent only a text to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi when her husband was nearly murdered. And risible Sarah Palin lost for the Alaska House seat.

Sweet was the vision of a beguiling baby girl on the Senate floor, when they came back to business. Almost one year old, Eva Beth Ossoff was calm at the center of attention.

Her father, Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., bravely took her to meet Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. The baby pointed here, there and up at the lights, a bipartisan treat.

Often politicians are surrounded by babies; here was a baby surrounded by politicians. A baby is a vote for the future.

Meanwhile, over in the People’s House, undaunted Pelosi gave an elegant dinner in Statuary Hall and welcomed new Democratic members with their ideas, energy and optimism, she said.

So there.

Jamie Stiehm may be reached at JamieStiehm.com. Follow her on Twitter @JamieStiehm.

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