The Winners And Losers Of '06

Democrats Take Control Of The House But Do They Come Out Far Ahead?

(CBS)  This story was written by CBSNews.com's James Klatell.

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The Democratic Party won big on Election Day 2006. The Democrats took control of the House and a majority of governor's mansions across the nation – and still may take control of the Senate.

Although President George W. Bush has two years left in his second term, the political balance has shifted. After being locked out of power in Washington for most of the last 12 years, Democrats will be able to take some control of the agenda.

A Capitol Hill even half dominated by Democrats would erect a bedeviling barrier to the remaining items on his presidential agenda. It would also raise the specter of possible investigations into his pre-Iraq war use of intelligence, post-Sept. 11 expansion of executive power and other issues.

"Bush will also have to work with Democratic leaders who don't like him and don't trust him," said CBS News political analyst Norm Ornstein. "And the feeling is mutual."

Rep. Nancy Pelosi will become the Speaker of the House when the next Congress begins. San Francisco's representative will be the nation's first female Speaker.

"Today we have made history," she said, "now let us make progress."

But Pelosi is not the only big winner. Committee chairmanships across the Capital will change hands in January, and with the House majority comes the ability to hold hearings and subpoena.

"Remember that it's payback time," said CBS News consultant Sam Best, who is the director of the Center for Survey Research & Analysis at the University of Connecticut. "There were a number of investigations against the Clinton administration and now it might be time to even the score."

Rep. Rahm Emmanuel (D-Ill.) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) were the architects of their party's campaigns and should get some of the credit.

"Rahm is definitely the Rock Star," said CBS News consultant Dotty Lynch. "At age 47, he is in great position to become a leader for a long time."

Possibly the biggest winner is neither a Democrat nor a Republican. Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) lost in the Democratic primary and was forced to run for re-election as an Independent. Lieberman turned his campaign around and beat the Democratic nominee Ned Lamont in the general election.

"This is going to be a very closely divided Senate, no matter who ends up controlling it," said CBS News' Bob Schieffer. "And everybody is going to be courting Joe Lieberman. And don't forget, he doesn't owe a lot to Democrats because once he lost that primary, they all turned against him."

There will be big losers as well after these midterm elections. Current Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) and the Republican leadership will have personal losses as well.

Hastert didn't have much to say about his future as he won his 11th term. "It's been kind of tough out there," conceded Republican House Speaker Dennis Hastert.

Rep. Tom Reynolds, who directed the House Republicans' national campaign, will keep his seat, barely fending off his Democratic challenger in upstate New York. But the loss of GOP control of the House could seriously undercut his clout in Washington.

Sen. Rick Santorum – once the poster boy for the conservative Republicans who stormed Congress in the 90s – lost his big for re-election. It was the first defeat for the staunch conservative who rose so quickly through the ranks in Washington.

And what about the president? Is Mr. Bush a lame duck?

"You could make the case that this is an opportunity for Bush," said Ornstein, who is a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. "It gives Bush an opportunity to create a majority in the middle."

The White House has already made plans for the president to call Pelosi first thing in the morning

Looking beyond the president's second term, there's a split decision on how the 2006 vote will affect the 2008 vote.

"Hillary Clinton is in good shape," Best said. "It's clear that women leaned toward Democrats and Bill Clinton seems to have been a success. He's the horse pulling the Democratic cart."

Nicole Wallace, a former advisor to the Bush White House, said that the brightest light for the Democrats was Barack Obama, not Hillary Clinton.

"He turned out to be a real star in Iowa, which is political gold when you're heading into a presidential election cycle," Wallace, now a CBS News consultant said. "And the loser was Hillary – all the oxygen that Obama took up was to her detriment."

But, a midterm victory doesn't necessarily pave a Democrat's way to the Oval Office.

"This set Democrats up for 2008 when they will have to come up with a positive agenda," Lynch said. "They won this time by demanding change and avoiding a lot of specifics. To win the White House, they will have to have a program."

Best said, "Republicans can spend the next two years pointing the finger at the Democrats for blocking their initiatives."

[homecreek65]

Fox news will increase their share. By the way, I thought the Republicans were going to steal the election through the Roveamatics ah electronic voting machines. I guess now we have a race to see if President "Pee"losi ah Speaker "Pee"lsoi can impeach President Bush before he tosses out the Constitution.

[dj0114]

This new independence of the voters will hopefully lead to the further decline in ratings for Fox News. No longer should the people of this country rely on this awful outlet of pro-Reichpublican hogwash.

I am also hoping that Rush Limp %u2018Without-My-Illegal-Viagra%u2019 Baugh sees a decline in his audience as more people discover that listening to a mean-spirited hypocrite like him is no longer funny or fashionable.

Hi Ann %u2018Evil Anorexic%u2019 Coulter- may your next book be %u2018I Am Leaving The Country%u2019.

And let%u2019s get rid of this %u2018liberal media bias%u2019 lie once and for all. Most media outlets are owned by rich white men. Rich white men typically lean toward the Reichpublican Party. They will sell their papers, radio and TV newscasts to whoever they believe will buy what they are selling but privately they mostly tow the Reichpublican line because that is the party of the deep pocket people.

It is a good morning in America again.

[dj0114]

The evil that was the Reich-publican Party was repudiated by the voters yesterday with a vengeance. No longer can Resident Bush do as he pleases and Karl Rove%u2019s status as a political genius has been sullied. Rick Santorum and George Allen%u2019s White House ambitions have been shattered.

The Reich-publicans were given a clear message by the voters: ENOUGH.

Now that the Democrats have taken back the House (and possibly the Senate) they cannot waste this opportunity and become like the corruption-filled, closed- minded group that has tasted the boot of the American voters. They must force Resident Bush into getting our troops out of Iraq, end those budget busting tax cuts for the rich and help out the middle class (which pays for everything in this country). Getting rid of those tax cuts alone will help to eliminate the budget deficit and bring back a sense of fairness in our tax system.

The Democrats must complete a thorough investigation into how Bush, Cheney and impeach Resident Bush and Cheney for high crimes and misdemeanors for the senseless deaths of thousands of US soldiers.

They must reject the siren call of special interest lobbyists and get real reform placed into the election process. Elections should never be so open to thievery like the Reich-publicans allowed them to be.

Stem cell research should be funded and the Patriot Act should be reviewed and revised so as to restore our Constitutional rights again.

It is a good morning in America again.

[qwaszx1-2009]

ALL REARY the liberal media bias card is being played...Republicans had the amazingly enviable position of controlling the Senate, House and presidency. YOU ACCOMPLISHED NOTHING! YOU BLEW IT! You proved you cannot govern. Now you'll get back to what you are good at, complaining. Now the right wing whining begins...all ready.

[oleander8]

I'm not fond of Katie and I didn't watch her...I watched 3 cable news channels and all, I repeat, all of the broadcasters tried to contain their glee at the election outcome but it came through. Hey, they're human and they're Americans. Isn't it a beautiful day?

[wadark]

Ya know, I noticed something watching the hour-long coverage last night. As much as I love Katie and her anchoring job, there seemed to be a definite bias toward democrats last night as throughout the broadcast there were no republican winners announced, even though republicans won almost 200 house seats and 50 or so senate seats.

[boghini]

i hope claire mccasKILL enjoys her time on earth because eternity is going to be rough with all of the lives lost to embryonic stem cell research she is responsible for

[ndg1979]

It is about time that all of the Americans who were asleep at the polls in 2000 & 2004 have become awake enough to realize that enough is enough. Republicans cried for years that the Democrats were involved in *** scandals and worked towards impeachment, but now they have worked without Democratic help to singlehandedly destroy their own party and I can't wait for Bush's impeachment.

This lame duck leader (a real president is elected by a majority of voters) and Karl "Kriminal" Rove have turned the U.S. against the world and the world has responded by turning its back against us. Let this be a message to all who voted republican and to the world that United States citizens know what is right and that we will hold our leaders accountable for doing what is right.