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:

They want a path to getting American troops out of Iraq.

They want to raise the federal minimum wage.

They want to use the tax code to make such middle class needs as health care and education more affordable.

And they want to spend more money on homeland security.

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.

Democrats have pledged to run both the House and the Senate in a manner that would give the minority -- in this case, the Republicans -- more of a say in the legislative process, including the all-important conference negotiations between the two chambers on pending bills.

But make no mistake, Democrats will still control the major decisions about what the various committees do with their time and what matters are considered on the floor.

In the hyper-partisanship that has prevailed in Washington since the terms of Bill Clinton and through the Bush years, and given the personal animus that has existed between the two parties generally -- and between Bush and Pelosi and Reid specifically -- the most obvious guess would be that the Democrats would use their power to pass politically popular legislation in both chambers, and get it to the president's desk for what they would view as a no-lose situation -- have Bush sign bills that are part of their own core agenda, such as the minimum wage increase and increased health care availability for children, or have him veto them and frame the debate for the 2008 presidential election.

Under this scenario, Democrats would also use their power to stymie many, or even most, of Bush's significant nominations, particularly lifetime appointments for federal judgeships. They would also engage in tough oversight of past, present, and future administration policies and programs.

All this would be a recipe for exactly what George Bush has always vowed he would not have -- a wasted presidency.

At Tuesday's White House photo opportunity with Pelosi, Bush and the incoming speaker both pledged the kind of bipartisan cooperation that Washington has not seen in years.

And there are areas of agreement on energy, economic competitiveness, Darfur and immigration, on which the president could build coalitions that include large numbers of Democrats.

With the holiday season fast approaching and just over a year before the 2008 presidential campaign nomination fights are fully under way, Bush has very little time left to get his agenda restarted after the worst political day of his career.

The most pressing items on his to-do list are (1) the Iraq war, (9) Nancy Pelosi and (3) Harry Reid. Tough as the challenge is, the inevitable first step on a path to solving items (2) and (3) is item (1).

ABC News' Mark Halperin is co-author With the Washington Post's John F. Harris of "The Way to Win: Taking the White House in 2008." Go to thewaytowin2008.com to find out more.