A Clean Sweep

The Democratic Party has officially taken control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Dems are the majority for the first time since 1994 after the so called Republican Revolution. It was the first time in history that the Dems gained seats without any incumbents losing their seats.

The news came yesterday when incumbent George Allen (R) of Virginia conceded to Democratic challenger Jim Webb after an extremely close race. Approximately 7,000 votes separated the two candidates. The announcement tips the balance in the Senate to 51 seats for the Democrats to the Republicans' 49. The House still has 6 undecided seats, but the current count is 229 seats for the Dems and 196 for the GOP.

President Bush invited Speaker to be Nancy Pelosi to the White House yesterday for lunch and to discuss politics. They both pledge to work through party differences to work on the issues of Iraq, minimum wage, and Dafur. "We have our differences and we will debate them, and that is what our founders intended. But we will do so in a way that gets results for the American people," Pelosi said. Nancy Pelosi is set to become the nation's first female Speaker of the House and will become third in line for the presidency.

The new Democratic congress has a lot on its plate including a possible confirmation of Secretary of Defense nominee Bob Gates, and a decision on the fate of United Nations ambassador John Bolton.


My Opinion: I'm glad to see that there is now a system of checks and balances in Washington D.C. It appears as though George W. is humbled with a Democratic congress and that's a very good thing. It means that he has heard what the people want. I think that he didn't really think that all these polls showing his approval rating at 35% were accurate. Now he realizes they are. Congrats to the Democrats! Now its time to get to work with your Republican counterparts to change the United States.