THE TENSION: Poll: Most Doubt Dems Have Plan for Iraq

Former U.S. Presidential candidate John Kerry (background L) watches on as incoming U.S. Senate Majority leader Harry Reid (C)(D-NV) walks alongside his party colleagues on Capitol Hill November 14, 2006. Reid, a moderate Nevada Democrat, was elected by colleagues on Tuesday as U.S. Senate majority leader for the 110th Congress that will convene in January. The other top positions are (2ndL-R) Vice Chair of the Conference Charles Schumer (D-NY), Secretary of the Conference Patty Murray (D-WA) and Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL).

Kerry: Doorman for the Dems Marching In.
Former U.S. Presidential candidate John Kerry (background L) watches on as incoming U.S. Senate Majority leader Harry Reid (C)(D-NV) walks alongside his party colleagues on Capitol Hill November 14, 2006. Reid, a moderate Nevada Democrat, was elected by colleagues on Tuesday as U.S. Senate majority leader for the 110th Congress that will convene in January. The other top positions are (2ndL-R) Vice Chair of the Conference Charles Schumer (D-NY), Secretary of the Conference Patty Murray (D-WA) and Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL).

The Associated Press reports amid new talk of bipartisanship on Capitol Hill and at the White House, Americans are divided on whether the new Democratic-controlled Congress and President Bush can work together on their top priorities.

The latest Associated Press-Ipsos poll shows Americans in the aftermath of last week's power-shifting election remain divided over the country's direction and on their hopes for bipartisan cooperation.
No doubt the election results have put Democrats in something of a box, said Stephen Biddle, a defense policy expert at the Council of Foreign Relations.
"It's a very, very awkward thing to run a war from the Congress," he said. "The public wants them to do something. And they don't want to go into 2008 and be accused of being the do-nothing 110th Congress."