Bill Enyart took a sharp career turn when gave up being a general to make a surprise run for the U.S. House. The local Democratic Party asked him be the 12th Congressional District nominee after the prior choice dropped out of the race. Until then, Enyart, 63, said he had never considered being a congressman.

Still, Enyart exuded confidence that he had the experience and background needed to replace longtime Rep. Jerry Costello, and the voters agreed.

Congratulations to Enyart on his victory. Now comes the hard part.

The Congress that's ending is considered the most partisan in more than 100 years. Its inability to work together has meant that many pressing problems and hard choices have been pushed down the road: deficit reduction, Medicare reform and simplification of the tax code to name three. That has stymied our nation's economic recovery.

It remains to be seen whether the new Congress will be any better at working together.

Enyart said he considered it his duty to run for office at a time when most people want to run away from the nastiness in Washington: "I felt like I still owed something."

He was talking about the debt he feels he owes America, by the way, and not the Democratic Party: Regarding the party: "I don't owe anybody anything."

Good to hear; we are counting on his leadership and his votes backing up his words.

All members of Congress will need to focus on public service rather than party interest if our nation is going to move from gridlock to solutions.