United States Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld resigned on Wednesday, paying the price for the Democrat surge to power in Congress driven by a wave of public anger over the Iraq war.
President George Bush announced the veteran power broker’s departure, sending shockwaves though Washington, in a move that could possibly pave the way to a major change of US strategy in the strife-torn nation.
”After a series of thoughtful conversations, Secretary Rumsfeld and I agreed that the timing is right for new leadership at the Pentagon,” Bush said.
He named former CIA chief Bob Gates as Rumsfeld’s replacement at the Pentagon, following six tumultuous years with Rumsfeld at the helm.
Bush also took responsibility for the Democratic election victory, and acknowledged it was motivated by voter dissatisfaction with the Iraq war. ”I’m obviously disappointed with the outcome of the election,” Bush told reporters at a White House news conference.
”As the head of the Republican Party, I share a large part of the responsibility,” Bush said.
Senate
Democrats, meanwhile, picked up a fifth Senate seat in Montana, after Tuesday’s midterm elections, moving to the threshold of power in the upper chamber, after capturing the House of Representatives for the first time since 1994.
Democrat Jon Tester defeated incumbent Republican Conrad Burns by fewer than 5 000 votes, according to US networks ABC and NBC.
The final and decisive Senate race in Virginia was too close to call, with Democrat Jim Webb leading by several thousand votes. It could be weeks before the vote is declared, with a recount likely.
The opposition party beat most predictions by picking up nearly 30 seats to take control of the 435-member House for the first time since 1994.
In Virginia, where Democratic challenger Jim Webb also holds a slight lead, it could take up to three weeks to get a result if a recount is ordered, officials said.
A spokesperson for the incumbent, George Allen, on Wednesday would not concede defeat and vowed to ensure that every vote was counted.
The Republican drubbing means Bush is already certain to face new scrutiny over Iraq and a difficult two final years in the White House.
”The American people have spoken, and they have demanded change,” said Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid. ”They want, they deserve and they are going to get a new direction — at home and in Iraq.”
”This is a wake-up call for the Republican Party,” said a humbled Republican Senator John McCain, a likely candidate to replace Bush in 2008.
New direction
Democratic leaders quickly demanded a new direction to the US operation in Iraq.
Nancy Pelosi, the California representative set to become the first-ever female Speaker of the House, said the election proved Americans were sick of Bush’s policies on Iraq, where more than 2 800 US troops have died.
”We cannot continue down this catastrophic path. And so, we say to the president, ‘Mr. President, we need a new direction in Iraq,”’ Pelosi told supporters.
Her House colleague Rahm Emmanuel, who helped mastermind the win, added: ”What we’re doing in Iraq isn’t working and we desperately need to change course.”
Republican House majority leader John Boehner said his party was ”deeply disappointed” but predicted it would reclaim a majority in 2008.
Bush watched from the White House as his Republican Party’s monopoly on power was shattered.
Voters piled on anger over the course of the war in Iraq and a heap of corruption and moral-values scandals that have tainted the Republicans in the past two years, exit polls suggested.
They also expressed concern over skyrocketing healthcare costs, the economy, illegal immigration and ”values” issues such as stem-cell research, gay marriage and abortion.
Defeat
Such issues sent Republican incumbents crashing to defeat in Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Texas.
The Democrats also won six governors’ seats to take the majority of state houses for the first time in 12 years. Hollywood star Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, bucked the trend and was re-elected in California, crushing Democratic rival Phil Angelides.
Democrat Keith Ellison, from Minnesota, became the first Muslim elected to Congress, and Hillary Clinton easily beat her Republican rival to claim a second Senate term, further spurring expectations of a 2008 presidential run. ”We believe in our country, and we’re going to take it back, starting tonight!” the former first lady told supporters in New York.
In other Senate races, Democratic challenger Claire McCaskill toppled Republican incumbent Senator Jim Talent in Missouri, and Democrat Bob Casey Jnr ousted conservative Republican incumbent Rick Santorum in Pennsylvania.
Democrat Sherrod Brown defeated Republican incumbent Mike DeWine in Ohio, and Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse beat Republican incumbent Lincoln Chafee in Rhode Island.
There were sporadic problems with electronic voting machines, and both sides hurled accusations of voter fraud. — AFP
