Power shift in Washington

The tectonic plates of Washington power have shifted, presenting both President Bush and the new Democratic majority in Congress with an opportunity to work together and leave behind the politics of confrontation.

The day after the historic midterm elections of 2006 – in which the Democrats won considerably more than the 15-seat net gain needed to take over the House of Representatives and were heading toward a possible majority in the Senate – leaders from both parties pledged to work together and avoid the intense partisanship of recent years.

"The message yesterday was clear: The American people want their leaders in Washington to set aside partisan differences, conduct ourselves in an ethical manner, and work together to address the challenges facing our nation," Mr. Bush said Wednesday in a press conference.

The reality, analysts say, is that the next two years are likely to offer a blend of confrontation and common ground. The Democrats, after 12 years in congressional opposition, don't want their hard-fought majority to vanish in the next election. The incentive for Bush, entering the final two years of his presidency, is to leave his party in a position to compete effectively in 2008. He can take a page from his earlier days as governor of Texas, when he gained a reputation for working well with Democrats.

"Early indications are that he's doing what he's done before and can do again, if he can get over his hurt and his pique, which it sounds like he already has, or at least he's working on it," says Bruce Buchanan, a political scientist at the University of Texas, Austin. "That is, this is not the time to get confrontational and dig in his heels."

Yesterday morning, Bush was on the phone, congratulating the Democratic leadership of Congress, and inviting the presumptive next speaker of the House, Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, over for lunch.

From the Democrats' end, Ms. Pelosi already has appeared to clamp down on talk of impeaching the president by some of the more vocal liberals in the House. Still, life under the Democrats is expected to include hearings and inquiries into aspects of the Iraq war and the larger war on terror. The challenge will be for the Democrats not to appear on a witch hunt.

By Wednesday morning, the contours of the new House and Senate were becoming clear, but not definitive. At press time, the Democrats had made a net gain of 27 House seats and five Senate seats. One Senate race remained too close to call – but the Republican incumbent, George Allen of Virginia, was slightly behind. If the challenger wins, Democrats will control a majority in the Senate.

In Tuesday's wave, some longtime Republican members were defeated, including Reps. Nancy Johnson of Connecticut, Clay Shaw of Florida, and Curt Weldon of Pennsylvania. In the Senate, incumbent Republicans Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, and Mike DeWine all lost.

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