Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Implications of 2006 Elections (as of 9:27 PM, election night)

The big winners: Democrats and moderates. A number of those Dems looking to be successful tonight are moderate and the defeat of GOP conservatives like Santorum in PA and DeWine in OH (moderately conservative) means the Republicans will be looking for a different direction in 2008 presidential politics. Both parties are going to undergo decided centrist pushes in the next few years. Whose presidential prospects are helped by this move to moderation? McCain for the Rs; Bayh for the Ds.

In Congress: That moderation appears to mean that we may see cooperation on legislation and confrontation on foreign and military policy.

Iraq: Changes are coming. The House (and maybe the Senate) will use its subpoena and oversight powers to prod the White House on Iraq. But my guess is that the President may get ahead of the Dems prior to January 1, using recommendations from the Baker-Hamilton bipartisan commission as a pretext for bringing changes, substantive and cosmetic. That includes a standdown strategy.

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