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Election 2002:
Instant Analysis
With Robert Kaiser
Washington Post Associate Editor
Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2002; 9 p.m. ET

When all is said and done who will have control of the Senate? Why did certain candidates take home the win? What kind of Congress will we have? How did voter turnout affect the outcome?

As Americans cast their ballots and watch the results, share your reactions with Post senior correspondent and former managing editor Robert G. Kaiser, Tuesday, Nov. 5th.

The transcript follows.

Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.

Robert Kaiser: Good evening, and welcome to washingtonpost.com's election night dicussion. We welcome questions, comments, good jokes, expressions of outrage or enthusiasm. I'll try to answer questions and offer analysis, but I can't promise to be right, or wise. We'll stay around here as long as people seem interested.

Spanaway, Wash. Clinton memorialized the phrase "It's the economy, stupid." But despite a lagging economy, Democrats have failed to gain traction on this issue. Even though many poll respondents say the economy is their number one issue, the present economic malaise doesn't seem to be hurting Republicans. What's your take on this?

Robert Kaiser: This has been one strange election, partly for the reasons you cite. The Democrats I think failed miserably to establish a clear position separating themselves from the Bush Administration, or to give voters good reasons to vote for them. Nevertheless, they are getting a lot of votes tonight, because we are still living in an evenly divided country. The economy isn't great, but it isn't terrible either. It was striking that the Conference Board reported, last week, some of the lowest consumer confidence numbers in a long time, a fact that excited some Democrats. But, as you note, in the end the economic issues don't seem to have been all that helpful for the Dems.

Englewood, Colo.: If the Republican candidate wins in the Missouri Senate race does the lame-duck session provide the Republicans with an opportunity to send down court appointments even if the Democrats win an overall majority in the Senate?

Robert Kaiser: Good question. It's much too early to know where the Senate may turn out, but there seems to be no chance the Republicans will get enough members to ram through controversial nominees for judgeships, because of the Senate's cloture rule. Sixty senators have to vote to cut off debate and vote on any nomination; Democrats will almost certainly have many more than 40 votes to prevent nomineees for judgeships that the strongly oppose from getting confirmed.

Ottawa, Canada: How will tonight's results impact on Al Gore's decision to run again or not?

Robert Kaiser: No idea.

Washington, D.C.: What tv network do you have on in your office right now and why?

Robert Kaiser: I have NPR (Linda Wertheimer and Robert Siegel) playing on my computer, and I am jumping between CNN and MSNBC. Major networks aren't on the air yet.

Alexandria, Va.: Mr. Kaiser,

Do you think that the rain in the South East will have any effect on turnout?

Robert Kaiser: No info on that so far.

Arlington, Va.:
If, come tomorrow or next month (depending on litigation), the Democrats don't pick up seats in the House and keep the same breakdown in the Senate, can the Republican's look at this election as a win?

Robert Kaiser: You bet -- though not, of course, as big a win as they hoped for, and may yet win. That is, one with a Republican majority in the Senate as well.

White Bear Lake, Minn.: Mondale seemed almost condescending at times in yesterday's debate. Will that hurt him at all? What's your prediction on that race?

Robert Kaiser: I was in an airplane during that debate and missed it, unfortunately. All that I've heard and read suggests that both guys did a good job of speaking to their natural supporters, and tonight's reports from Minn. indicate a high turnout of voters there.

My prediction is that Mondale will win, unless Coleman does.

College Park, Md.: Are you a liberal Democrat, sir?

Robert Kaiser: I am a registered independent.

Plano, Tex.: If the Democrats have not effectively campaigned on the economy and if the Republicans have not focused this election on security and anti-terrorism, why does it seem that more people are voting in this mid-term election than in most others?

Robert Kaiser: Where's your information on turnout coming from? We've heard about good turnouts in a few places, but I have no evidence yet that the abysmal turnout of recent offyear elections will be significantly improved upon today.

Alexandria, Va.: If you were the Republican Committee Chairman, what issues would you have told those in your fold to run with? What if you were the Democratic Chairman?

Robert Kaiser: This is the sort of question a reporter just doesn't know how to answer. One of the joys of being a journalist is that you don't have to think about behaving like a professional politician. If I'd wanted to do that, I'd have become one!

San Jose, Calif.: Do you think Cleland will pull it out?

Robert Kaiser: Maybe.

Alexandria, Va.: I note that the SEC just announced that Harvey Pitt has resigned. Do you suppose that the not unexpected announcement came in the middle of election night so that is import would get buried in a blizzard of results?

Robert Kaiser: Yes I do.

Sarasota, Fla.: It appears Katherine Harris is headed to Congress. Any thoughts on how she'll fare there?

Robert Kaiser: I was in Sarasota, her home town, over the weekend, and was asked similar questions by many people there. Some Sarasotans are nervous that she won't be taken very seriously up here. My view is that every new member of Congress gets a chance to make a favorable impression on his/her colleagues, based on how serious they are about actually doing the hard work involved in being a member, and how they handle the all-important personal relationships with colleagues.

Nokesville, Va.: Can I congratulate your paper for doing major coverage of the Morella-Van Hollen race? Getting into all the nuts and bolts was fascinating, even if you didn't live in Maryland. But are all the other races in Maryland non-competitive? Would have liked to see more on Bentley-Ruppersberger.

Robert Kaiser: Thanks. Bentley-Rupperberger (hope you're spelling that name correctly!) is a Baltimore race, not exactly local for us. We covered it in some detail, but not remotely as attentively as we have covered Morella-Van Hollen. Their voters are our readers.

Washington, D.C.: You want to guess as to how late we are going to be up tonight? Do you even think we will know who controls the Senate by tomorrow morning?

Robert Kaiser: I've thought all day there was an excellent chance that we won't know who carried the Senate until tomorrow or even later in the week. Nothing has happened so far to change my opinion about that.

Somewhere, USA: So are you going to give us your predictions?

Robert Kaiser: I am not. Why would you want them? They're no better than yours, I assure you.

Harrisonburg, Va.: How is the decision by the Voter News Service changing things at the Post?

Robert Kaiser: Two ways, at least. We won't have the guidance they usually give with their calls based on exit polls. Those used to allow us to put at least some information in the stories that will appear in our first edition. Those stories will probably be pretty thin tonight. Second, we will have less interesting material for tomorrow's story on how different groups in American society voted today. We will have some informationo of that kind, but it seems we won't have as much as usual. This will be frustrating for political junkies--and for us.

Arlington, Va.: Wait a minute -- how can the Voter News Service be calling races (as they are on MSNBC) if they said earlier that they don't have reliable information? I am confused.

Robert Kaiser: As I understand it they are making calls on the basis of actual votes counted, not exit polls.

Atlanta, GA: South Carolina, with 32% reporting, is showing 49% each for Graham and Sanders. That's awfully close with a fair number of votes in, yet I hear nothing on NPR about it. What's up there?

Robert Kaiser: Can't answer for NPR, but this brings up an interesting point about the limits of radio and television broadcasts. They are really limited inthe number of words they can squeeze into a minute, or an hour. They are always making arbitrary choicesabout what gets mentioned and what doesn't. I had noticed what you did--that Graham is having a tighter race than the Republicans expected or hoped for. Stay tuned.

Sarasota, Fla: During the Democratic gubernatorial primary here, Jeb Bush surprised a lot of people by focusing attention on Bill McBride rather than Janet Reno, the expected frontrunner. Do you think Jeb, who appears to be winning tonight, consciously helped pick the weaker opponent for himself, or did he just luck out?

Robert Kaiser: Or maybe he just beat his opponent by running a better campaign? As you know, at the time of the Dem primary, McBride ran better against Bush in polls than Reno did. When I was in Florida this weekend I heard everywhere that Bush did much better than McBride in their last debate. Might that have made the difference? Or did Bush's huge advantage in money put him ahead? His margin looks substantial, so probably the answer is, all of the above.

New York, N.Y.: A lot of people I have read seem to think that Louisiana is going to go to a runoff. That means another month of campaigning. HOWEVER, if I remember correctly, campaign finance reform kicks in at midnight tonight. How will this affect the Louisiana runoff race (if there is one)? Are we likely to see a few court challenges?

Robert Kaiser: No idea about court challenges. And it looks as though state party committees have a way to evade McCain-Feingold limits (see Thomas Edsall's piece in Tuesday's Washington Post).

St-Albert Canada: We haven't heard much from Ralph Nader this time around. Is he still "in business?"

Robert Kaiser: He is, but quietly. I'm curious what he'll do in '04, and how the people who backed him last time would respond if he runs again.

Virginia: Robert -- Do you know what happened to Dole's campaign?

Robert Kaiser: Not sure what you mean. She has done very well -- has won, according to CNN. She was ahead at the beginning, and at the end.

Toronto Ontario: If you were Bush and had "a choice" of controlling the House or the Senate, which one would you choose and why?

Robert Kaiser: If we're talking about controlling with a narrow advantage, which is what we likely will see, either way, then controlling the House is much more useful, because the House does not allow for any fillibusters or other blocking maneuvers by a large minority. As we've seen in the last two years, a small majority in the House can be enough to get everything you want as president.

North Carolina Race: There was a glitch on one of the local cable news sources that showed Bowles with a 92 percent to 8 percent lead a while ago, that may be what the previous questioner was alluding to.

It was corrected almost immediately.

Robert Kaiser: THanks.

Miami, Florida: It looks like Florida is going to Bush. What does this mean for the President? What does it mean to Terry McAuliffe?

Robert Kaiser: If Jeb had lost, that would have shaken up the White House in a big way. Jeb winning makes them proud, happy, relieved. But other governorship races may give them heartburn: Pennsylvania, Michigan and Illinois, especially.

New York, N.Y.: What is your take on the Golisano campaign in N.Y.? The guy is sure to lose having spent over $50 million of his own money? There was speculation on Sunday he was dropping out and throwing his weight behind Carl McCall but that didn't happen. What will he gain from this election?

Robert Kaiser: For those outside NY, Golisano was/is the quixotic, and rich, independent candidate for governor, who squandered one big hunk of change to run hopelessly against Pataki. what does he get? Some notoriety. Maitre d's will recognize him, at least for a year or two.

Charlottesville, Va.: Regarding your response to "Plano, Tex." earlier, the Dallas Morning News is reporting near-record voter turnout in Dallas County. Unfortunately, they're also reporting that hundreds of voting machines in Tarrant County (Ft. Worth) were misprogrammed not to recognize "straight ticket" votes, meaning that a substantial chunk of votes in Texas won't get counted until tomorrow morning at the earliest, and we don't have VNS to help us project the outcome before that. Ah, technology...

Robert Kaiser: Interesting...

Arlington, Va.: Harvey Pitt resigns on Election night? Sounds like a cynical ploy by the administration to try to slip this in on a heavy news night when a later time might have yielded more reporting about their record fighting corporate corruption, just as an earlier time might have spotlighted the issue in advance of the election.

Robert Kaiser: The timing of this announcement was not a coincidence--I think we can be confident of that.

San Diego, Calif.: Do you see this election and the previous one as an indication that America has become almost dangerously polarized, where political debate has become meaner and more personal that ever? And do you feel (as I do) that our political scene is becoming more akin to professional wrestling (sorry Jesse) and pro sports than the more serious and somewhat less personal campaigning that we had some years ago?

Robert Kaiser: I recommend David Broder's column in Tuesday's Post, on this subject. Personally I think the country faces some serious challenges: because state legislatures have gotten so good at creating safe seats for incumbents that we have a very small number of competitive House seats. This means we have polarized government. And this encourages many of our worst tendencies.

Silver Spring, Md.: Mr. Kaiser,
What, if any, will be the international ramifications of the congressional elections if Bush gains control of both houses of Congress? Could a narrowly Republican Congress be less malleable in his hands than one might expect?
Thanks for your insights, and your refreshing aversion to omniscient airs.

Robert Kaiser: Interesting question, not sure I know a good answer. If the REpublicans take control of the Senate and hold the House, they'll have won a midterm victory unprecedented in modern times for a party controlling the White House. That will probably make Bush look still stronger to foreigners--and to Americans, don't you think?

I do not think a Republican congress would be "less malleable in his hands than one might expect." I am very impressed by the discipline in the modern Republican Party. The few remaining Republican moderates in Congress rarely break ranks for any reason.

Arlington, Va.: Do you enjoy elections? I know some people hate them, but I absolutely devour the number crunching, prognosticating and (God help me) negative ads.

Robert Kaiser: I'm hooked too, but it's no longer as much fun as it once was...

New York, N.Y.: What's your take on the lack of Bush vs. Gore outrage this year? It seems that the Democratic furor tempered somewhat over the last two years.

Robert Kaiser: I think the Bush team, and the president himself, has done a quite brilliant job in wiping out memories of 2000 in the last two years. Their decision to act as though they won a thumping victory two years ago has worked very well--at least so far.

Paterson, N.J.: How is it possible that a draft dodger like Saxby Chambliss could defeat a real hero like Max Cleland in the state of Georgia?

Robert Kaiser: well, at the moment he is doing it by winning more votes--a lot more.

Potomac,Maryland: If Rep. Morella is defeated in Maryalnd tonight, would you anticipate the Republicans heavily targeting this seat in 2004 as one to try to win back?

Robert Kaiser: No I wouldn't. The Maryland legislature tried to create a Democratic seat by redrawing the borders of the district. If Van Hollen wins, that will confirm their success, and I would expect him to turn it into a safe seat quite easily. But he hasn't won yet.

Hong Kong: Dear Sir,
Has the victory of Gov. Jeb Bush in Florida come as a surprise to you?

Robert Kaiser: No. I was in Florida over the weekend and it looked to me as though Bush was comfortably ahead there.

Washington, D.C.: I think it's cynical and a shame that Bush is leading in Florida. Do you think this truly represents the will of the people or do you think that some of the same voting machinery problems from the election 2000 are prevalent in Florida? I read that they were. I read of a Zambian Newspaper editor defining democracy as a Greek derived concept that suppresses the interests of the 'minority' for the "majority.' I think this is rather a shallow understanding -- I hope this is not what we see here. People's rights being violated purportedly in the name of democracy.

Robert Kaiser: I've seen no evidence of any machinery problems this time. It looks like the voice of the people to me.

Atlanta, Ga.: I've got Georgia election returns on the TV, and, while Chambliss is ahead, so is Perdue in the governor's race, though by a narrower margin. I haven't seen any figures that suggested that Perdue could beat Barnes, so I'm pretty sure we're not seeing results that'll resemble the finals in the Cleland/Chambliss race yet.

Robert Kaiser: Thanks for that info.

Arlington, Va.: Gov. Mark Warner has now thrown in the towel on the Transportation Sales Tax Referendum which was trounced thoroughly. I think people sensed rightly that we cannot roadbuild our way out of the traffic mess locally and the development interests were all for it. Your thoughts both on the defeat itself and damage to Gov. Warner politically.

Robert Kaiser: The defeat is fascinating to me; a year ago I thought it would sail through. You may be right about one of the key reasons--serious doubts were raised about whether building roads gets any result besides more traffic.

As you know, Va. governors have only a single term. Warner can't be crippled by a vote like this. But there was a chance that he could at least claim credit for spending the money raised by a sales tax on new roads, which might have been fun, given the fact that he is going to have to cut the budget drastically in all other areas.

Washington, D.C.: You sound so sure Mr. Kaiser that the people have spoken in Florida, but media reports have said that many of the problems with voting machinery would not have been fixed by this election -- and with Jeb Bush in control of the voting machinery in Florida -- once again, it's not clear which people have spoken.

Robert Kaiser: another precinct heard from...

San Diego, Calif.: Let's assume that by the end of tonight, Jeb has won Florida (already declared winner as I write this), the House remains Republican with some gains, and the Senate is Republican by one seat, or more. What does this do to the prestige, influence and future role of Bill & Hillary Clinton? Bill did a lot of campaigning; and many believe Hillary will eventually run. Who comes out stronger, or weaker, or is it a wash?

Robert Kaiser: too soon to agree with you about the Senate; indeed, because of Louisiana we might not know for weeks. I have no insight into the Clinton question. If you turn out to be right, the Democrats will be in a deep funk--all of them.

Princeton, N.J.: Haven't the Democrats lost their distinctive post-Roosevelt progressive point of view to join the centrists, in the Clinton era, and now find themselves without a clear identity?

Robert Kaiser: I guess I think your formulation is oversimplified. No question the Democrats ran this election without a distinctive identity, but that's not a first. Jimmy Crter and Bill Clinton are the only Democrats to win the presidency in modern times, and they did so with moderate campaigns and a good number of southern electoral votes. This is a rich and complicated subject, one Democrats have got to ponder in the months ahead.

Herndon, Va.: So far from the called races not a single incumbents has lost. Have you detected any sense of outrage at the way redistricting and other tactics are used to ensure safe seats?

Robert Kaiser: I don't think most people understand wat has happened because of redistricting. Over time, might reformers adopt the cause of independent, non-political redistricting panels at the state level? I don't know.

Washington, D.C.: The new BCRA legislation will not apply to a Louisiana run off election. The pre-November 6th rules will apply.

Robert Kaiser: thanks for that.

RE: The Elections & The Fun Factor: Why isn't it as fun for you has it once was? You have to admit that the past few elections have been damn interesting.

Robert Kaiser: Why? Because so few campaigns have any real intelectual substance, because important issues are so regularly ducked by all sides, and because candidates now routinely spend 70-90 percent of their campaign chests on negative advertising.

Arlington, Va.: Your take on the Maryland gubernatorial race? Townsend clinging to a 1 point lead (50-49) with 66 percent reporting. Don't the usual Democratic strongholds of Montgomery Co., Price Georges Co., City of Baltimore and Baltimore County usually come in before the Republican strongholds in northern and western Maryland?

Robert Kaiser: My memory is that Baltimore often comes in quite late. But I'm not certain. I'll walk over to the Maryland desk and ask the experts...

Robert Kaiser: Maryland desk reports that Erlich is now ahead slightly, and there are a lot (at least 150,000) Baltimore city votes in the current tally. But it's still too close to call.

Arlington, Va.: So, if things keep going as they seem to be for the Republicans, can Bush be credited?

Robert Kaiser: Sure.

Charlottesville, Va.: "Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton are the only Democrats to win the presidency in modern times?" What about LBJ in 1964? Or are the 1960's no longer considered "modern times?" Jeez, I must be getting old.

Robert Kaiser: I thought about that, since I too was able to vote in that 1964 election. But I don't think we can call it part of the modern era--before the Vietnam War, before Madonna and Michael Jackson, before the Baltimore Ravens and at a time when we still had Washington Senators--nope, not the modern era.

Reston, Va.: So has any candidate distingushed themseves in being honest and direct (a la John McCain), or have they all been attack ad peddling cop-outs?

Robert Kaiser: well, mondale and coleman were pretty direct and straight in their debate. I don't have enough information to damn them all, but it's tempting...

Alexandria, Va.: CNN just declared Erlich the winner.

Robert Kaiser: Yes he appears to have won. I hope you have all found the wonderful electroal map here on washingtonpost.com. It's a great way to get the latest vote counts. It showed me that Erlich was beating Townsend several minutes ago.

Washington, DC: I cannot find anything on the NH Senate race. Could you please share what your desk is saying? Thanks!

Robert Kaiser: Go here and you'll see that Shaheen lost (she has already conceded). http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/elections/2002/general/nh.html?elect=3791

Arlington, Va.: Post now reporting Ehrlich up 53-47 with 93 percent reporting. Is this thing a done deal?

Robert Kaiser: Done deal.

Holland, Mich.: Who won the 17th district in Pennsylvania -- Holden or Gekas?

Robert Kaiser: Gekas up 51-49 with 85% of precincts reporting.

Annapolis, Md.: How will many of the reporters and editors of the Post -- who seemingly have a liberal bias -- feel tomorrow morning?

Looks like your side lost. Or will tomorrow just be another day on the job -- fair and accurate reporting across the board?

Robert Kaiser: Look at this thoughtful comment: "...who seemingly have a liberal bias." What is that supposed to mean? What is the evidence? I have to say, this kind of knee-jerk comment drives me nuts.

We do not have a side. We don't CARE who wins. Our job is to report what is happening, then try to explain it.

And your job is, seemingly, to take dumb potshots.

Scarsdale, N.Y.: How do you explain Mitt Romney? Kind of a carpetbagger, though he certainly made his fortune in Massachusetts. But he hasn't really been in touch with the commonwealth for some time.

Robert Kaiser: very attractive candidate, drawing on the magic potion that has helped republicans win the governorship there so often in modern times.

Arlington, VA: First, the Post's LiveOnline feature is just great and beats The Grey Lady all to perdition in this regard. Now from the Rocky Mountain News, they're reporting Wayne Allard ahead by 9 points with appx. 1/3 of the precincts reporting. Don't you think control of the Senate will now come down to MN, CO and MO?

Robert Kaiser: Thanks for that nice comparison to THE NEW YORK TIMES. (Let's call a lady by her real name.) I think we have to add Arkansas to your list, and then we do indeed have the key ones. Assuming South Dakota is safely Democratic, which it looks to be at the moment, but it's early.

Arlington, Mass.: Here in Massachusetts, we've just elected a Republican governor for the 4th straight time with Mitt Romney's victory tonight. We have a completely liberal Democratic congressional delegation! How do you explain the paradox here?

Robert Kaiser: See above: magic potion.

Somerville, MA: With the Alanta returns how are they calling the Georgia Senate Race?

Robert Kaiser: With two-thirds of the vote counted, Chambliss is ahead 53-45 over Cleland. Looks good for the Republicans.

Atlanta, GA: Will we see some stories in the Post playing up how powerful an accomplishment this election is for the President? The President's party historically loses big in both houses of Congress in the mid-term elections.

Robert Kaiser: I'm sure you will, though the accomplishment will look a lot more impressive if Republicans regain control of the Senate.

Bethesda, Md.: I'm concerned about the House and the Senate being Republican, especially with war looming. Are there any checks on the President and his policy in Iraq?

Robert Kaiser: Sure. But how effective or influential they may prove to be is unknowable.

Atlanta, Ga.: Speaking of Arkansas, Pryor has around 60 percent, but that's not nearly complete -- it'll be tighter. What's really interesting is that Governor Huckabee is having a hard time beating Jimmie Lou Fisher. I'm wondering whether the way Hutchinson is losing -- alienating the conservative base by leaving his wife for a young staffer -- has helped Fisher.

Robert Kaiser: Apparently, Mrs. Huckabee's run for statwide office created big problems for the governor.

Fairfax, Va.: How DO you explain this seeming drubbing of Democrats all across the country -- from Shaheen to Bowles to Townsend to McBride and more? And places like here in Northern Virginia, where Democrats didn't even mount a challenge to Republican incumbents? Are the Democrats toast?

Robert Kaiser: Drubbings? Mostly close results. Dems still have a good shot at retaining the Senate -- though they could lose it, too.

Historically, this is a really poor result for the Dems. But if they hold the Senate, it's not a disaster.

Charlottesville, Va.: When was the last time one party controlled both Congress and the presidency? Also, if the GOP takes over the Senate and the House, what could this mean for judge candidates?

Robert Kaiser: 1993-94, and in 2001 until Sen. Jeffords switvched parties. Re judges, see answers above.

Charlottesville, Va.: It seems to me that the Republicans have done a pretty good job of suggesting that anyone who disagrees with the President on major issues in "our nation's current time of need" is being unpatriotic. Do you think that Democrats in general were afraid to take their gloves off and really dig into issues such as the economy that might have helped them in their campaigns because of this?

Robert Kaiser: As indicated above, I think the Democrats had a very bad year trying, unsuccessfully, to define themselves and give voters some reason to support them. Yes, I do think they were afraid of Bush, and confused by him.

New York, N.Y.: re: Terry McAuliffe. How do you feel the rage that surely will be directed toward the head of the DNC (don't forget that Bill Bradley and others tried to warn us against him) will be handled by the Media?

Robert Kaiser: I don't know, but McAuliffe wasn't on any ballots that I'm aware of. A more fundamental question is, what is the basis on which Democrats chose their party chairman?

Ester, Alaska: Did the Democrats' unreasonable stance on gun control cost them this election?

Do you see any similarities between the 1902 and 2002 elections (grin)?

Is Dubya the Teddy of the 21st century?

Robert Kaiser: 1) doubtful
2) some.
3) not yet.

Arlington, Va.: "It's much too early to know where the Senate may turn out, but there seems to be no chance the Republicans will get enough members to ram through controversial nominees for judgeships, because of the Senate's cloture rule. Sixty senators have to vote to cut off debate and vote on any nomination; Democrats will almost certainly have many more than 40 votes to prevent nomineees for judgeships that the strongly oppose from getting confirmed."

The Dems didn't allow most of the recent crop of allegedly 'controversial nominees' to even get a vote on the Senate floor because they knew that they didn't have the floor votes to stop their nomination. If the Reps control the senate and have the majority on the committees, these nominees will actually get voted upon by the Senate and Tom Daschle et al will have to actually debate the nominee's qualifications. That's a huge difference. Wrongly killing nominations in committee is provence of little minds and little people. The light of day will show this clearly.

Robert Kaiser: Thanks for this. Of course we can't generalize; each nominee will be dealt with separately. But you're right that at least one or two of those the Judiciary Committee did not vote on apparently enjoyed majority support in the full senate. Not sure they had 60 votes, though.

Arlington, Va.: Could you please explain what happened in 1902 and why there are similarities to this election?

(sorry. I blame my public schooling.)

Robert Kaiser: I was bluffing. But now I've looked it up, and can report that 1902 was, with 1934 and 1998, one of only three times in the 20th century that the party in the White House gained House seats in a midterm election.

Tenleytown, Washington, D.C.: What are you eating to keep yourself alert? Does the Post provide reporters with extra nourishment on these late nights?

Robert Kaiser: There's a bitg spread of eats here, but I haven't visited it in more than two hours. Which may be one reason why this won't go on much longer!

Arlington, Va.: What do you think of the Moran/Tate race? What could Tate have done better to have come up with a victory?

Robert Kaiser: Jim Moran is a popular politician, and a good campaigner, and he has a heavily Democratic district. THat was enough.

Robert Kaiser: We seem to have silenced the questioners--haven't had a new one for quite a few minutes. So that's my queue. Thanks to all for taking part. There will be lots of analysis and explication on the site tomorrow. Good night.

washingtonpost.com:

That wraps up today's show. Thanks to everyone who joined the discussion.

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