As an ardent student of the arts of negotiation, an avid follower of political wranglings and a passionate fan of John Woo movies...I think we are heading for some very interesting waters.
Bush's last claims of bi-partisanship resulted in an iron curtain being dropped. It was an unspeakably false lie resulting from their feelings that they were holding a royal flush. Suddenly, deliciously, all that has changed over night. How will this play out? Bush is being marketed as being humbled, conciliatory and ready to, once again, reach across the aisle...or at least eat argula and endive at lunch with Pelosi.
So, it doesn't take a Nostradamus to predict that there will be some public displays of hand-shaking and pragmatic concessions for a while. Behind the scenes, however, I think there will be VERY hard-knuckled deals and negotiations...kinda like in a John Woo film where the negotiations take place with everyone pointing Magnums at everyone else's heads.
Think about it. The business of the country has to go forward. Meaning, there will have to be budgets, etc. At the same time though, there will be massive (and long-over due) attempts at Congressional accountability that will absolutely involve hearings and subpoenas. I'm sure the subpoenas will be resisted by claims of executive authority (particularly if they can even find Cheney.) So we are probably looking at Constitutional battles that could go all the way up if not settled.
On the one hand, with both houses of Congress and a massive landslide reflecting the mood of the country, the Dems will be feeling their oats but they will have to be on their best behavior in terms of trying to get things done - because their support will be, at least at first, quite soft...With Mitch McConnell and Trent Lott (my predictions) in the leadership...they will have to reach accomodations or they will lose congressional initiatives so they can't afford to turn deaf ears to repubs still in Congress or they will get shut out.
At the same time, though, there will be a massive rush by presidential contenders and those who want to be elected again (yep, Congressgritters and Senators) in 2008...this will result in grand-standing, ego aggrandizing, shivs in the backs of rivals and well...leadership tussles.
In the mean-time, there will be many in the Netroots who will be hungering for blood from the people that they helped to put into office. Impeachment will, rightfully, be on many's lips while getting on with the business getting on of fixing and healing this country will, rightfully, be on many other's lips. 2008 hopefuls for election (or re-election) will slowly come to realize that the fighting keyboardists from Blogistan are a force to be reckoned with and will have to start listening to and feeding those that can help make them or break them. No, we are not the oil companies...but we are many, we are active and our $5 contributions can add up quite quickly.
I can now envision a scenario similar to Nixon...where, if massive corruption is uncovered or explored at the highest levels, that impeachment will not happen but that the popular sentiment for impeachment will be so strong that Bush may have to step down. As may Cheney. This type of scenario, while it may not happen, will be indicative of the brass-knuckle negotiations that will take place.
Thus we will be in a situation where those that govern us all need each other to make themselves look good (and hopefully, run this country of ours). At the same time, they all hate each other or at the least see each other as either intra-party rivals or opposing party obstructionists. There will be massive stampedes for party leadership...and the egos doing the trampling will not be small.
Finally, I would not be surprised if there weren't massive repub recriminations as a result of the crushing loss, BTW, so there could be very fractious infighting within the GOP as they scramble to repair their all but demolished, for the time being, flank.
And we, the people, desperately need them to work for us. And they know this. And desperately need to present this government start working. Yesterday.
So, it'll be like a multi-level game of chess with gun-barrel negotiations taking place between Dems and themselves; the GOP and themselves; the Dems and the GOP; the GOP and the president; Congress and the President; and, perhaps the biggest negotiation of all...the government and the electorate. (This is, of course, not counting negotiations that must continue with Iraq, Iran, North Korea, etc.)
Whew! A very HEADY jambalaya, indeed. Fascinating. But VERY spicy. Pass the tequila.