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Democratic House Divides Government

Nov 8, 2:06 PM (ET)

By LAURIE KELLMAN

WASHINGTON (AP) - Exultant House Democrats plotted their return to power with a "new direction" for the country on the Iraq war and new scrutiny of the Bush administration. They scored an early victory Wednesday when Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld resigned despite President Bush's flat refusal to fire him.

The announcement came just hours after Democrats reclaimed the House after a dozen years in exile and immediately demanded Rumsfeld's ouster.

Speaker-in-waiting Nancy Pelosi did not mention Rumsfeld's name but called for Bush to "change the civilian leadership of the Pentagon."

"That would signal an openness to new fresh ideas on the subject," she told reporters, adding that she would discuss the matter with Bush at a lunch on Thursday.

Said newly re-elected Sen. Joseph Lieberman, suggesting how Bush might dismiss his defense secretary: "Thanks Don, you've served the country but really we need somebody new there."

Bush, it turns out, did not need to urge Rumsfeld to resign. He said at a news conference Wednesday that he and his Pentagon chief agreed that the time was ripe for new military leadership.

"Sometimes it's necessary to have a new perspective," Bush announced, essentially agreeing with Democrats who had said Rumsfeld, the architect of the Iraq war, had to go.

Rumsfeld's resignation amounts to a volley of good faith from Bush to newly empowered Democrats and a strong start for what Pelosi had vowed would be a "new direction" for the country under a divided government.

Still, partisan unpleasantness loomed both between political opponents and within the Democratic caucus. Besides conflict over Iraq, Democrats promised new scrutiny of the Bush administration and a top-to-bottom cleaning of Congress, an institution that has been plagued by scandal and bitterness in recent years.

"We certainly have a mandate for making this place more honest making it operate in a more civilized way," Rep. Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday, on the morning after voters made all but certain she would become the House's first "Madame Speaker" and hours after she and Bush pledged to work together.

In the first 100 hours of the new Congress convening in January, Pelosi also aims to raise the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour, put into effect the anti-terror recommendations of the 9/11 Commission and allow Medicare to compete for cheaper drug prices.

But Iraq fueled the impending conflicts both within Democratic caucus and beyond.

Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., a veteran who came out against the war, said in an interview with The Associated Press that he "absolutely" would challenge Minority Whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland for the schedule-setting majority leader's post.

The power shift in Tuesday's midterm elections sharply changes the relationship between Bush and Congress on a variety of fronts, from the war in Iraq to his warrantless domestic surveillance of suspected terrorists.

The midterm balloting also served pretty much as the kickoff point for the 2008 election cycle, notwithstanding a general public that was no doubt weary over nonstop negative campaign ads.

Democrats already had plans to use their committee gavels and platforms to audition for even more seats in 2008, including the one in the Oval Office. For Bush, the next two years will be about sealing his legacy. The confluence of political agendas could give the two sides reason to compromise on select legislation, such as overhauling the nation's immigration laws.

But inaction seemed inevitable on policies that do not serve the political interests of both sides, certainly if the morning-after pledges of good faith evaporate.

Wednesday was for celebrating among Democrats. Besides winning control of the House, the party was assured of at least 50 seats in the Senate and was leading in Virginia's tight Senate race as well.

Even as she vowed to throw an intense spotlight on the administration's wartime policies, Pelosi pivoted to a conciliatory tone.

"The campaign is over. Democrats are ready to lead. We are prepared to govern," she said. "We will do so working together with the administration and the Republicans in Congress in partnership, not in partisanship."

Besides calling Pelosi and House Democratic campaign chief Rahm Emanuel, Bush also placed morale-boosting calls to Republicans ousted from control, thanking Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois, Majority Leader John Boehner of Ohio and Whip Roy Blunt of Missouri and others for running strong races around the country.

The message: "That we fought hard, we have some tough losses, but that we're going to work together as we move forward," said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino.

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Associated Press Writer Kim Hefling contributed to this report.

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