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WASHINGTON - US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld quit today after American voters showed their anger at the Iraq War by delivering President George W. Bush a resounding defeat in yesterday's polls.
Just days after declaring his strong support for Rumsfeld, President Bush said he agreed with his top war manager that it was time for a new perspective.
Bush said the current Iraq policy was "not working well enough, fast enough."
He said Rumsfeld would be replaced by former CIA Director Robert Gates, a member of the Iraq Study Group, a bipartisan group that is assessing alternative strategies for Iraq.
Bush said his party's election defeat did not mean the United States would withdraw prematurely.
The elections gave the Democrats control of the US House of Representatives and today results had moved them within one seat of victory in the Senate.
Democrat Nancy Pelosi of California, likely the next leader of the House, said she welcomed the change in Pentagon leadership.
"I think it will give us a fresh start," Pelosi said.
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Earlier today Democrat Jon Tester declared victory over Republican Sen. Conrad Burns in Montana in a close race. The win gave Democrats 50 of 100 US Senate seats, threatening to take control of both chambers of Congress for the first time in 12 years. Virginia was still in question.
Democrats rolled up gains of about 30 seats in the House in yesterday's elections and picked up five of the six Senate seats they need for a majority.
A potential recount and possible legal challenges in Virginia could delay the final result, dredging up memories of the 2000 presidential election recount that lasted five weeks.
Virginia Democrat James Webb led Republican Sen. George Allen by about 7,000 votes out of 2.3 million cast. Canvassing of votes could take a week, with a final result declared late in November. A recount could stretch into December, leaving Senate control uncertain.
The Allen campaign indicated it did not plan to concede before the process ended. "I think it's very important that we respect the voters of Virginia and count their votes," Allen adviser Ed Gillespie said in Richmond, Virginia.
The narrow majorities in Congress, especially the Senate, were almost certain to spawn more partisan gridlock and political warfare during Bush's final two years in the White House.
The Democratic victory gives the party control of House legislative committees that could investigate the Bush administration's most controversial decisions on foreign, military and energy policy.
Democratic control of the House will make outspoken liberal Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California the first female speaker and could slam the brakes on much of Bush's agenda and increase pressure for a change of course in Iraq.
Bush telephoned his congratulations to Pelosi and other Democratic leaders on Wednesday morning, pledging to work with them. He invited Pelosi and the No. 2 House Democrat, Steny Hoyer of Maryland, to lunch at the White House on Thursday.
All 435 House seats, 33 of the 100 Senate seats and 36 of the 50 governorships were at stake. Democrats beat Republican Sen. Rick Santorum, the third-ranking Republican in the Senate and one of the Democrats' biggest targets this year.
Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman, running as an independent, beat Democratic anti-war challenger Ned Lamont, who had defeated the former vice presidential nominee in the Democratic primary.
Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton sailed to an easy re-election win in New York, setting up a likely 2008 presidential run.
"This is a wake-up call to the Republican Party," said Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona on CNN.
Democrats also scored big wins in governors' races, taking six seats from Republicans and winning a national majority that could give them an edge in the 2008 presidential election.
In California, however, Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger won easy re-election.
In ballot initiatives on social issues, voters in seven states rejected same sex-marriage, providing one of the few bright spots for conservative Republicans in the elections.
Democrats have promised early votes on much of their legislative agenda, including new ethics rules, a rise in the minimum wage, reduced subsidies to the oil industry and improvements in border and port security.
Early exit polls showed voters disapproved of the war in Iraq by a large margin, but they said corruption and ethics were more important to their vote.
Democrats hammered Republicans all year for spawning a "culture of corruption" in Washington, with four Republican House members resigning this year under an ethics cloud.
The party was hit by allegations about influence peddling, links to convicted lobbyists and a Capitol Hill sex scandal involving Republican Rep. Mark Foley's lewd messages to teenage male congressional assistants.
The campaign-trail debate was dominated by Iraq, and Bush defended his handling of the war to the end despite job approval ratings mired in the mid-30s. He questioned what Democrats would do differently and predicted Republicans would retain control of Congress.
History was with the Democrats -- the party holding the White House traditionally loses seats in a president's sixth year.
FACTBOX: DONALD RUMSFELD
Donald Rumsfeld, 74, is stepping down as US defence secretary after nearly six years in the job.
* Admired by some as a patriot who reinvigorated the military but also painted by detractors as a reckless warmonger who botched the Iraq occupation planning, failed to anticipate the bloody insurgency, sent troops into combat without enough armour and sullied the US reputation by sanctioning detainee abuse.
* Alienated some US allies in Europe, maintained icy relations with US lawmakers, even some fellow Republicans, battled with Cabinet rivals including former Secretary of State Colin Powell and intimidated some senior military officers.
* In early 2006, accused by small group of retired generals who demanded his resignation of strategic blunders in Iraq and disregarding military advice. President George W. Bush kept Rumsfeld despite howls for his sacking.
* For the Iraq war plan, Rumsfeld insisted on relatively few troops and plenty of high-tech wizardry, ignoring advice from some generals for a larger force to handle the manpower-intensive chore of occupation.
* One of the longest-serving defence secretaries, Rumsfeld held the job twice. In 1975, President Gerald Ford, for whom he also served as White House chief of staff, made him at age 43 the youngest Pentagon chief. In 2001 Bush made him the oldest.
* Rumsfeld made millions as a corporate executive between Pentagon stints. He has been married to his wife Joyce since 1954. They have two grown daughters and a son.
- REUTERS
