Steve Kagen?

What were the people in Wisconsin's 8th Congressional District thinking?

The race between Steve Kagen and John Gard should have been a no-brainer for voters.

Did new voting machines malfunction? There must be some explanation.

A majority of the voters could not have knowingly picked Kagen over Gard.

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Steve Kagen, a millionaire doctor new to politics, won Wisconsin's only open U.S. House seat Tuesday after a campaign promising to bring change to Washington and to the policy in Iraq.

"We already have too many professional politicians in Washington. Thank you so much for giving someone new a try," he told cheering supporters in Appleton after defeating veteran Republican state legislator John Gard. "We needed a positive change and a new direction. I think we found it this evening."

Then he added, "There's a doctor in the House."

Before Tuesday, according to the Congressional Quarterly, only 12 licensed physicians were serving in Congress -- 10 in the House and two in the Senate.

Kagen's win gave Democrats another seat in their effort to gain a House majority. With the high stakes, the race became the most expensive campaign in state history for a two-year job in Congress.

Kagen's margin of victory was slim.

Who cares? A win is a win and a loss is a loss.

It's amazing to me that given the choice between someone nutty like Kagen and a highly qualified, experienced, committed individual like Gard, Kagen would come out on top.

It took a while for Kagen to come out and address his supporters to deliver his rambling victory speech.

No doubt, he waited for Gard to call and concede.

Because the race was so close, it took a long time before Kagen was willing to claim victory.

Then again, Kagen could have been slow to do his victory dance because he operates on "Injun time."

Good grief.

What is this guy doing in the House of Representatives?