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WASHINGTON - President George W Bush signalled a more conciliatory approach on Iraq on Thursday as he and leaders of the new Democratic majority in the US Congress began sizing each other up.
Bush, whose Republican Party suffered humiliating defeats at the polls on Tuesday, said it was time to "put the elections behind us and work together on the great issues facing America," including the Iraq war.
"I'm open to any idea or suggestion that will help us achieve our goals of defeating the terrorists and ensuring that Iraq's democratic government succeeds," Bush said in a Rose Garden appearance with members of his Cabinet.
His chastened tone came a day after Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's resignation was announced. The nominee to replace him, former CIA Director Robert Gates, is expected to have a more open mind on solving the Iraq crisis.
Democrats easily seized control of the House of Representatives on Tuesday, gaining about 30 seats. But wrestling the Senate from Republicans took until the final votes were counted in the Virginia contest between Democrat James Webb and Republican George Allen.
Webb, a former Navy secretary for Republican icon Ronald Reagan, was projected to have narrowly defeated Allen, who was expected to concede on Thursday.
Webb's victory will give Democrats a 51-49 majority in the Senate, a margin so narrow that the White House is expected to try to form coalitions with more conservative Democrats to pass Bush-backed legislation.
In the aftershocks of the political earthquake that shifted the balance of power in Washington, Bush sat down for lunch in the Oval Office with the California Democrat expected to take over as House speaker, Rep Nancy Pelosi, and No 2 Democrat, Maryland Rep Steny Hoyer.
The menu was whatever they decided to order from the White House's West Wing dining room.
The two sides were expected to discuss areas where they might be able to find common ground and how to approach the Iraq war.
Democrats have made clear they will exert strong pressure on Bush for a course correction in Iraq amid rising US casualties and violence.
Bush said the United States has a responsibility to give support to the more than 149,000 US troops in Iraq -- an indirect challenge to those Democrats who have talked about cutting off funding for the Iraq mission.
"Whatever party you come from, we all have a responsibility to ensure that these troops have the resources and support they need to prevail," Bush said.
While planning ahead to work with Democrats when they take over in January, Bush was scrambling to get the lame-duck session of Congress, which starts next week and will still be controlled by Republicans, to approve several items.
At the top of the list is to try to get Gates confirmed quickly, as well as legislation to permit wiretapping of terrorism suspects, a civilian nuclear deal with India, and Vietnam's entry into the World Trade Organisation.
Trying to salvage the rest of his presidency, Bush promised a new tone of bipartisanship after years of rancour between the two parties.
Democrats have long complained of being shut out of policymaking by the Bush administration and Republicans in Congress, while the Republicans accused their rivals of obstructionism.
"You are not going to have a situation in which everybody agrees on everything. But ... there are going to be a significant number of areas where you can have some accomplishments," said White House spokesman Tony Snow.
He listed immigration policies, education and a push toward alternative energy sources as areas of possible cooperation.
- REUTERS
