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The opposition Democratic Party took control of the House of Representatives and the Senate and won the majority of governorships at stake in midterm elections in the U.S. As of Wednesday afternoon, when ballot counting was almost complete, the Democrats had won control of the House of Representatives with 232 seats, taken 28 governorships and had 51 seats against the Republicans in the 100-seat Senate. Exit polls suggest corruption scandals in Congress, terrorism, the economy and Iraq mattered most to voters, indicating the ballot was a verdict on the Bush administration's ethics and handling of the Iraqi war.
The House will now be led for the first time in history by a woman, California lawmaker Nancy Pelosi, who is likely to be elected House speaker. President George W. Bush is replacing Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who took the fall for his handling of the disastrous Iraq war, with former CIA director Robert Gates.
The win is tipped to further erode Bush¡¯s leadership by slamming the brakes on the policy agenda for his remaining two years in office, spur inquiries of government blunders like the Iraq war, then eavesdropping scandal and the handling of Hurricane Katrina, and cause significant changes to U.S. foreign policy including its dealings with a nuclear-armed North Korea.
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U.S. President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush step off Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington on Tuesday./REUTERS
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The Democratic Party favors direct dialogue with North Korea. In 2000, it sent then-secretary of state Madeleine Albright to Pyongyang in an attempt to reach a compromise with the communist state. The Bush administration, by contrast, insists any bilateral contact must come in the framework of six-nation talks on North's nuclear program. Experts say North Korea is closely watching the outcome in the mid-term election. Some say the North intentionally timed its nuclear test with the election and is likely to welcome the Democrat victory. As a result, it could hold out for another two years because leader Kim Jong-il reportedly feels there is no point talking to the Bush administration. That entails at best half-hearted participation in the six-party talks on hopes that the 2008 U.S. presidential election will produce a Democratic president.
But if the six-party talks produce no results, the Democrats could become even more hawkish than the Republicans. "It was the Democratic administration which talked about the need to launch preemptive strikes on the North's nuclear facilities in the 90s,¡± a Foreign Ministry official here said. "There is little fundamental difference between the Democrats and Republicans in the way they address North Korea." Another official said only some in the Democratic Party stress dialogue with the North. You misunderstand the situation if you believe that the Democrats will favor appeasement of the North.¡±
Rumsfeld's resignation could help Seoul take over sole operational control of its troops as and when it wants since the defense secretary was keen on an early handover, sources said. At the same time, the Democrats are mainly interested in Korea shouldering a bigger share of U.S. Forces Korea upkeep, which could lead to fresh conflict between the allies.
The Democrats could also get in the way of the planned free trade agreement between the two countries. They are less free-trade friendly than the Republicans, and a Democratic Senate would be unlikely to renew the Bush administration¡¯s fast-track authority for trade deals when it expires next year. Experts say that will make it virtually impossible to draw out the negotiations. Even if they are concluded, there could be problems with ratification in Congress. Pelosi earlier warned publicly against Congress members who oppose the bilateral FTA.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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