Democrats Have Chance to Define Themselves

Nov. 10, 2006 — -- In the 12 years since Democrats last controlled both the House and the Senate, the political world has morphed and twisted thousands of times.

During that period, Democrats have had good moments and bad, but they have not run Capitol Hill. This new power gives the party a chance to define itself before the 2008 presidential campaign.

It is also a critical time for George W. Bush, who still has one quarter of his presidency left and plans to use as much of it as he can to get things done.

Any progress he enjoys on Capitol Hill requires him to work with the new Democratic leaders, the incoming speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi of California, and Harry Reid of Nevada, who will become the majority leader.

The nature of the relationship that each of these Democrats forges with Bush will determine much of the fate of American politics and government for the next two years.

Although the Democrats' 2006 candidates did not run on a specific platform, the congressional wing of the party actually has clear goals:

It is the party's first goal -- disengaging the United States from Iraq -- that seemed to receive the clearest mandate from voters in Tuesday's midterm election. And the pending departure of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has given some Democrats hope that Bush is at least open to moving in a new direction.

A report coming in the next month or two from former Secretary of State James Baker is expected to offer a roadmap out of Iraq that both the White House and congressional Democrats will find appealing.

With a strong push, it is possible that the partisan tensions around the war might be lowered enough to open the possibility of cooperation on other issues.