( L - R ) Lieberman, Rumsfeld and Gates
WASHINGTON (Reuters):
Democrats swept Republicans from power in the U.S. House of Representatives and moved close to victory in the Senate yesterday, dealing a sharp rebuke to President George W. Bush that led quickly to Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's resignation.
Bush said he was "obviously disappointed" at the huge Democratic gains in elections fuelled by voter anger over the Iraq war. But the resignation of Rumsfeld, a lightning rod for war critics, was not directly tied to the election results, he said.
"Secretary Rumsfeld and I agreed that sometimes it's good to have a fresh perspective," Bush told reporters. He added that he shared "a large part" of the responsibility for the election losses and his Iraq policy was "not working well enough, fast enough."
He nominated former CIA director Robert Gates to replace Rumsfeld, but Gates would have to be confirmed by a dramatically reshaped Senate.
Democrats gained about 30 seats in the House and picked up five of the six Republican Senate seats they need for a majority. They led in the other one, Virginia, putting them in near control of both chambers of Congress for the first time in 12 years.
But a final decision on Senate control could be delayed by a potential recount and possible legal challenges in Virginia, dredging up memories of the 2000 presidential election recount that lasted five weeks.
Virginia Democrat James Webb led Republican Sen. George Allen by about 7,000 votes out of 2.3 million cast. The final vote counting could take a week, with a winner certified on Nov. 27 and any recount stretching into December, leaving Senate control uncertain.
The Allen campaign indicated it did not plan to concede before the process ended. "We'll see where the official tally stands on Nov. 27 and we'll come back and visit with you then," Allen adviser Ed Gillespie told reporters in Richmond, Virginia.
The big Democratic victory, fuelled by public discontent with the war in Iraq, corruption in Washington and Bush's leadership, was likely to increase pressure for a change of course in Iraq. Democratic leaders sought a summit with Bush on Iraq's future.
U.S. stock markets were trading slightly lower as investors took in the election results.
The split control of government and narrow majorities in Congress, especially the Senate, were almost certain to spawn more partisan gridlock and political warfare during Bush's final two years in the White House.
The Democratic victory gives the party control of House legislative committees that could investigate the Bush administration's most controversial decisions on foreign, military and energy policy.
Democratic control of the House will make liberal Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California the first female speaker and could slam the brakes on much of Bush's agenda and increase pressure for a change of course in Iraq.
BUSH PLEDGES TO WORK WITH DEMOCRATS
Bush telephoned his congratulations to Pelosi and other Democratic leaders, pledging to work with them. He invited Pelosi and the No. 2 House Democrat, Steny Hoyer of Maryland, to lunch at the White House on Thursday.
All 435 House seats, 33 of the 100 Senate seats and 36 of the 50 governorships were at stake. Democrats beat Republican Sen. Rick Santorum, the third-ranking Republican in the Senate and one of the Democrats' biggest targets this year.
Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman, running as an independent, beat Democratic anti-war challenger Ned Lamont, who had defeated the former vice-presidential nominee in the Democratic primary.
Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton sailed to an easy re-election win in New York, setting up a likely 2008 presidential run.
In Montana, Democrat Jon Tester beat Republican Sen. Conrad Burns, although the possibility of a recount remained.
Democrats also scored big wins in governors' races, taking six seats from Republicans and winning a national majority that could give them an edge in the 2008 presidential election.
In ballot initiatives on social issues, voters in seven states rejected same sex-marriage, providing one of the few bright spots for conservative Republicans in the elections.
Democrats have promised early votes on much of their legislative agenda, including new ethics rules, a rise in the minimum wage, reduced subsidies to the oil industry and improvements in border and port security.
Early exit polls showed voters disapproved of the war in Iraq by a large margin, but they said corruption and ethics were more important to their vote.
Democrats hammered Republicans all year for spawning a "culture of corruption" in Washington, with four Republican House members resigning this year under an ethics cloud.
The party was hit by allegations about influence peddling, links to convicted lobbyists and a Capitol Hill sex scandal involving Republican Rep. Mark Foley's lewd messages to teenage male congressional assistants.
