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Republicans have control over Congress - now what?

Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan and CBS News political director John Dickerson join "CBS This Morning"
Takeaways from 2014 midterm elections results 04:23

Now that the Republicans have control over the Senate and the House of Representatives, all eyes are on the new Congress to see how effectively they will work with President Obama.

CBS News political director John Dickerson said Republican leaders will have to show that they can govern and not necessarily in a "grand" way.

"They need small, trust-building exercises, not just necessarily to begin the process of working with the president, but to deal with the challenges within their own party," Dickerson said on "CBS This Morning." "It's wonderful to win, but then everybody thinks they know the new way ... forward. And so you're going to have one group of Republicans that want to go this way and another group that goes that way, and the leaders are going to have to build a coalition and say, 'OK, let's move forward together.' And that's tricky."

What voters want: Surprises from 2014 midterm elections 06:08

Voter dissatisfaction was evident in this midterm election.

In an Each American Dream/Luntz Global Poll survey, 34 percent of Americans who participated said Congress made them feel "frustrated." The next two words people used to describe how Congress made them feel was "angered" and "ignored," with 15 percent of votes each.

"The message ... is clear: Now that you won, start to govern, start to lead and start to get things done," CBS News contributor and Republican strategist Frank Luntz said.

CBS News contributor and Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan said both parties can make gains by agreeing on an issue.

"If it is tax policy, you'll get the Republicans and you'll get moderate Democrats," Noonan said. "Make them come together. They produce something, which America would love to see, and it goes to the president, who hopefully would accept it."

One of the issues frustrating the American public is the economy.

In CBS News' exit polls, 63 percent of respondents said the U.S. economy generally favors the wealthy, while only 32 percent said the system is fair.

"That is still the central question of politics today, and the voters are going to punish anybody who isn't addressing that question, even if the people they give power to haven't necessarily said anything to address that question either," Dickerson said. "They want somebody new because the person who's doing it right now, they don't believe, is taking it seriously."

Americans' faith in the economy will also affect candidates for the 2016 presidential election.

"What they're looking for is a government that is more efficient, more effective and spends less ... It's actually not changing Obamacare. It's not ISIS. It's not Ebola," Luntz said, adding that that will give Americans faith in the future of the economy.

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