Most of you you know what has happened, but many of TWN‘s international readers want a quick and compact picture.
First of all, yesterday afternoon, TWN predicted the following:
U.S. House of Representatives
201 Republicans
234 DemocratsU.S. Senate
51 Republicans
47 Democrats
2 Independents (caucus with Dems)
What the polls show today is:
U.S. House of Representatives
201 Republicans
234 Democrats
(projections by both MSNBC and CNN plus/minus 5 seats which are still undetermined)U.S. Senate
49 Republicans
47 Democrats
2 Independents (caucus with Dems)
2 Undecided
The two undecided Senate seats are in Montana and Virginia, but in BOTH states, Dems have a very, very small lead.
Dems need both to take the Senate. Republicans need only one to retain the Senate.
That’s where we are. All in all, a wonderful, incredible, heartening evening — despite my personal disappointment in the loss of Ned Lamont, Harold Ford, Jr. and Lincoln Chafee.
The big news is that checks and balances are back in style.
Joe Lieberman’s victory creates complexities in the Senate becaue I take him at his word that he is finished with organized corralling of his voting. He will stay with the Dem caucus in order to maintain his seniority — but I think that the days that he is a “trusted” member of the Dem team are over — and Lieberman and Dems need to see whether trust and common purpose can be rebuilt and whether that effort would be worthwhile.
Nancy Pelosi’s comments at the Dem Victory Party were superb. She hit the Iraq War on the head and invited President Bush to adopt a new and different track. I worried after hearing Howard Dean’s surprising comments last night that we were going to see big time Murtha-rejectionism and Dem leaders stealing defeat from the hands of victory.
But Pelosi — and Harry Reid — set exactly the right tone.
Everything out of McCain’s world and the White House is having “bipartisanship” fastened to the talking points.
Haven’t heard a word from Karl Rove. Karl?
— Steve Clemons
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