President Bush Speaks With Incoming Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi; Virginia Recount?; Montana Senate Race.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING begins right now.</s>SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And it's a new day dawning on Capitol Hill as Democrats are poised to now take back the House. The first time that's happened in 12 years.</s>M. O'BRIEN: As for control of the Senate, a virtual tie, 49-49. Two races still being counted as we speak.</s>S. O'BRIEN: This morning we're going to talk to the Democrat who might be the new House majority leader, and we'll talk to the Republican who some say might be to blame for some GOP losses. We've got those stories and much more ahead on this</s>AMERICAN MORNING. M. O'BRIEN: Good morning to you, Wednesday, November 8th. I'm Miles O'Brien.</s>S. O'BRIEN: And I'm Soledad O'Brien. Thanks for being with us.</s>M. O'BRIEN: It is 8:00 a.m. in the East Coast here in the U.S. Here's what's happening this morning. The Democrats roll up huge wins in the House. CNN projects at least 28 seats to regain control, while the U.S. Senate is still undecided at this hour. The Democrats did pick up four of six seats needed to control there, locking in a win for Claire McCaskill in Missouri overnight. And we'll talk with her straight ahead. But the true battlegrounds this morning, Virginia and Montana. The winners of those races will determine who controls the Senate. We're getting word that President Bush called Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi this morning. She is expected to become the first female speaker of the House. We'll hear from the president at a news conference slated for 1:00 Eastern this afternoon -- Soledad.</s>S. O'BRIEN: We're also going to keep you updated as those results come in throughout the morning. We've got reporters in those two undecided states. Ed Henry is in Virginia for us. Chris Lawrence is in Montana. We've got Dan Lothian, who is covering a couple other surprises as well, although he's not there in that list you're looking at. But Andrea Koppel is. She's going to show us the face of the incoming Congress. And Elaine Quijano is at the White House to talk about the power shift in Washington, D.C., as well. And, in fact, as we just mentioned, President Bush just spoke with the incoming majority leader, Nancy Pelosi. Let's get to Elaine Quijano with some details on that. Elaine, what do you know?</s>ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, I just talked to Deputy White House Press Secretary Dana Perino, who says that that conversation between President Bush and Nancy Pelosi took place around 7:15 Eastern Time. It lasted several minutes. And we're told that the president congratulated Nancy Pelosi and her candidates on their wins, also pledging to work together. He invited her to lunch tomorrow, as well as other members of the Democratic leadership. Now, at the same time, of course, the president making a phone call, as well, to the outgoing House speaker earlier, House Speaker Dennis Hastert, thanking him for his work as well. He said that they ran good campaigns, and saying while they came up short, they are committed to working with Democrats to get things done for the country. But certainly disappointment in the West Wing, Soledad, over those losses in the House. They are still holding out hope for the Senate, but the president clearly trying to reach out and strike a conciliatory tone this morning -- Soledad.</s>S. O'BRIEN: Which is an interesting thing at this point. And, you know, when you saw the president -- and you reported a lot because you were traveling with him -- the president campaigning on behalf of lots of candidates, and it didn't seem to work.</s>QUIJANO: Well, that's exactly right. The president obviously understands full well the political reality. His approval ratings in the 30s, the unpopularity of the Iraq war. And we saw reflected in his campaign itinerary that he visited those states friendly to Republicans, red states, states that he won in 2004. An acrimonious tone throughout this campaign, but the White House clearly signaling here that it is time to settle that aside. The president talking about the conversations. We're told by White House aides there was a "strong spirit of goodwill in the conversations." They're strategizing about how to get things done in the next Congress. As for the overall mood here in the White House, a senior aide saying that the president is not the first president to see a Congress change, he certainly won't be the last. But also, they're looking at the clock here. This official saying that while they have plenty of time to get a lot done, they don't have enough time to waste a single day -- Soledad.</s>S. O'BRIEN: Yes. But maybe it's "The Daily News" that sums it up the best. They have a picture of the president, his back, at least, and it says, "Ouch, This Hurts." That's the case.</s>QUIJANO: They're certainly feeling it here.</s>S. O'BRIEN: I bet. Elaine Quijano for us at the White House this morning. Thank you, Elaine. In Virginia, the race between George Allen, the senator there, and Jim Webb, could be heading toward a recount. CNN's Ed Henry is in Richmond this morning. Hey, Ed.</s>ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad. That's right, you just heard about the president's phone calls this morning because of that power shift. The power shift may not be over. Democrats already capturing the House. Depending on how this Senate race goes, the Senate could also flip to the Democrats, so much at stake. Right now Republican Senator George Allen is trailing. I'm standing outside the headquarters where he watched those returns come in. A lot of frustration in the Allen camp last night. They had a razor-thin lead throughout the evening, but it kept getting chipped away, chipped away by Democrat Jim Webb, who now is holding a slight lead into this morning. What has to be frustrating to Republicans across the country is that this race in particular was supposed to be a cakewalk for George Allen. He was going to easily get re-elected, then run for president in 2008. They thought he had a good shot at it. Instead, he had a lot of miscues, especially that "Macaca" moment. He was tied to President Bush, the unpopular war in Iraq, as well. Jim Webb hitting those issues very hard. Now this seat is very much on the brink for George Allen. Jim Webb last night claiming victory, even though he's only up 8,000 votes with some six precincts still uncounted as of this morning. Republican George Allen not conceding anything. But what they both can agree on is that there's going to be a lot of scrutiny of these votes.</s>SEN. GEORGE ALLEN (R), VIRGINIA: We're still counting votes. It seems like every time there's a new e-mail, you know, there's some more votes coming in. There's absentee precincts. There are some counties that say, well, they'll get to counting the ballots later on today. In other words, they've gone home and they'll come back tomorrow and count those precincts.</s>JIM WEBB (D), VIRGINIA SENATE CANDIDATE: Stay with us on this. I've been in a lot of fights in my life. This is nothing new. And we've got people right here who know how this process works. I just want all of you to know it's going to take a while.</s>HENRY: Now, under Virginia law, a recount is not automatic, but it's obviously very likely in this case. There's some precedent here. Just last year, in the state attorneys general race, that went to a recount. And to give you an idea of how long this may go, that one lasted for over a month -- Soledad.</s>S. O'BRIEN: Could see the same thing this time around, too. Ed Henry for us this morning. Thank you, Ed -- Miles.</s>M. O'BRIEN: The other crucial race which could tilt the balance of power in the Senate is in Montana. That's where votes are still being tallied in the race between Democrat Jon Tester and Republican incumbent Conrad Burns. Tester as of now is ever so slightly ahead. We get the latest now from Chris Lawrence, who is live from Billings, where there's been quite a wrinkle in the electronic voting system there -- Chris.</s>CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Miles. What happened was, here in Yellowstone County, they had some problems implementing the software to use in their new -- the counting machines. So that when they encountered a glitch and tried to fix it, it reset everything to zero and they had to go back and start counting Yellowstone County ballots again from scratch. Now, what was a tight race has certainly got a lot tighter. Democrat Jon Tester's lead has been narrowed now to about 1,500 votes over incumbent Republican senator Conrad Burns. Now, Democrats need Tester to hold on in this race. They need to take this race to make Virginia relevant. And if Webb holds on there, they would take control of Congress. Republicans are looking at this as if, if Conrad Burns can somehow change those numbers in the last few precincts and pull out a win here, it would, in effect, make Virginia irrelevant. Because if the Republicans win here, there would be no way for the Democrats to have the numbers to take control of the Senate. It was really two contrasting styles here. Jon Tester campaigned as an agent for change. Republicans painted him as someone who would raise taxes. Conrad Burns campaigned on his experience and his support for President Bush, but that may also have hurt him amongst some voters who looked at his ties to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff. And the Democrats trying to paint him as part of the culture of corruption there in Washington -- Miles.</s>M. O'BRIEN: Chris Lawrence in Billings. Thank you very much. The counting continues there -- Soledad.</s>S. O'BRIEN: Control of the House means the Democrats get to set the agenda and have the potential to make history. Congressional Correspondent Andrea Koppel live for us on Capitol Hill this morning. Good morning, Andrea.</s>ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad. And the potential to make history, because now that Dems have the majority in the House, Nancy Pelosi is poised to become the first woman speaker in U.S. history. And for months now out on the campaign trail, her mantra has been that a vote for Democrats is a vote for change.</s>REP. NANCY PELOSI (D), CALIFORNIA: Tonight is a great victory for the American people. Today the American people voted for change, and they voted for Democrats to take our country in a new direction.</s>KOPPEL (voice over): Now that Democrats have won the House, what will they do?</s>SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: We're going to move this country in a new direction.</s>KOPPEL: In a recent interview with CNN, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, now poised to become the next House speaker, promised to use that clout to push an ambitious agenda in her first 100 hours in power. It includes enacting all 9/11 Commission recommendations on national security; increasing the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour; eliminating corporate subsidies for oil companies; and allowing the government to negotiate Medicare drug price; as well as cutting interest rates on college loans and imposing new lobbying restrictions. As for Iraq, Democrats say they'll make 2007 a year of transition.</s>SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: Where we redeploy our troops, putting many if not most of them outside harm's way, both in and outside Iraq.</s>KOPPEL: On the campaign trail Republicans warned Democrats would increase taxes.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: IF Democrats take over Congress, they will raise taxes by $2.4 trillion.</s>KOPPEL: Pelosi's response, yes, but only for the wealthiest Americans.</s>PELOSI: We will revisit the tax cuts at the high end, but in order to give tax cuts to the middle class.</s>KOPPEL: Complicating matters, a new batch of moderate and conservative Democrats just elected who will force their party to shift towards the center.</s>THOMAS MANN, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: The trick for Pelosi and the other leaders is going to be to find issues that -- that unify the various wings of the party.</s>KOPPEL: And that's one reason why experts say once Pelosi starts legislating early next year, she's going to want to try to find issues, at least to begin with, that all Democrats agree on. Among them, minimum wage and returning to a budget rule that's known as pay- go, which means that you will pay, you will find money for any spending that you do or any tax hikes. Miles, back to you -- or Soledad.</s>M. O'BRIEN: Thank you very much.</s>S. O'BRIEN: We're both O'Briens. We answer for each other.</s>M. O'BRIEN: Any old O'Brien will do.</s>S. O'BRIEN: Like a married couple, right?</s>M. O'BRIEN: Yes, ma'am.</s>S. O'BRIEN: Thanks. Andrea Koppel on Capitol Hill for us this morning. You can hear more from the next expected speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, this afternoon. She's going to be a guest on "THE SITUATION ROOM". You can catch her at 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time -- Honey.</s>M. O'BRIEN: Democratic control of the House, possibly an evenly- split Senate, and 24 months until the next election. What happens next? Well, for Candy Crowley, what happens next is a little sleep. But after that it gets into the real fun season for her. Good to have you with us. And thanks for staying up late, early, whatever you want to call it. Let's talk about Nancy Pelosi. You've got, you know, Conyers, and Rangel. You've got these, you know, old school liberal Democrats at the top of the party, and most of the Democrats who were elected to give them the majority, these so-called blue dog Democrats, much more conservative. How's that little -- there's going to be stress within the party, isn't there?</s>CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, there is going to be on social issues, for sure. But Andrea is perfectly right. The first thing Nancy Pelosi is going to do is find something they can agree on. And minimum wage is kind of a no-brainer. Even if Republicans don't go for it or the president vetoes it, which I sincerely doubt, it's a good issue for them. So she's going to find things. And it's going to be really interesting. A lot of us said, oh, you know, Nancy Pelosi, she's a San Francisco liberal, and she's, you know, got the most liberal district in the world. But this is a whole different thing. I mean, there's a reason that Tom Daschle no longer represents South Dakota is because the minute he became leader of the Democrats in the Senate, his agenda became the caucus, as opposed to his state. Nancy Pelosi's agenda now becomes her caucus, not her district.</s>M. O'BRIEN: And now the Democrats have the burdens of expectations. You know, being the minority power -- minority party out of power, you can throw bombs and the bar is set pretty low. What about the expectations?</s>CROWLEY: Yes, somebody once said to me it's easier to throw grenades than catch them.</s>M. O'BRIEN: There you go.</s>CROWLEY: And so they're back doing that. Look, the expectations are pretty high, and I think that's going to be interesting, because no matter how you look at it, the president still has veto power, and they don't have enough -- enough for an override of a veto. So, you can look at it and think, you know, this is a recipe for gridlock. And in large part it is, because you add on top of that, you know, 10 percent of the Senate is running for president. So they're going to have their own agendas. And I'm not kidding. That's probably a low percentage.</s>M. O'BRIEN: About the number, yes.</s>CROWLEY: And so -- but you look at the president, and he's in the last two years. And this is when presidents' minds turn to legacy. And his legacy, obviously, is the Iraq war. But perhaps he wants to do something on the domestic side. Immigration seems like something that might happen. So maybe they'll find something, but it's not going to be big things.</s>M. O'BRIEN: The White House says he's going to go to his Texas playbook, bipartisan, whatever. Is that going to happen?</s>CROWLEY: OK, well, we'll see. I mean, it's just -- you know, my mother said, "Oh, you've gone to Washington and you've gotten all cynical." And that's probably true. I mean, I hear them all the time. I mean, I was here when they changed last time and they were all going to work together, and then two weeks later, they aren't. So we'll see.</s>M. O'BRIEN: Candy Crowley, one of the best here, one of the best cynics on our team, as a matter of fact. And part of the best political team on television. Thank you.</s>S. O'BRIEN: And that's a compliment.</s>M. O'BRIEN: And that's a compliment -- Soledad.</s>S. O'BRIEN: Coming up this morning, the tight Senate battle between George Allen and Jim Webb. We've been talking about it all morning. Will it end up in court? We're going to chat with our senior legal analyst, Jeff Toobin, about that. And we'll also talk to the former congressman Tom DeLay. Some think that it was his ethics scandal that really kicked off the Republican collapse in Congress. Well ask him about that straight ahead. Stay with us.