A loud message for the president: the Democrats' success in this month's midterm elections has created a new political landscape in Washington. The results were widely seen as a call for change.

Everything is different now for President Bush. The era of one-party Republican rule in Washington ended with a crash this month when Democrats decisively won control of the House of Representatives in the midterm elections. The results sent a clear message to the President that the voters want change, especially on the war in Iraq.

Whatever the final numbers, the President now confronts the first Democratic majority in the House in 12 years and a significantly bigger Democratic caucus in the Senate.

As of November 8, with 13 districts still too close to call. Democrats had 227 seats to the Republicans' 195 in the 435-seat House of Representatives.

In the Senate, Democrats defeated Republican incumbents in Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Missouri, and Montana. The Senate lineup as of November 8 was 50 Democrats and 49 Republicans, with control hinging on the outcome of a likely recount in the close Virginia race. (Should the Senate end up split 50/50, Republicans retain control because Vice President Dick Cheney will get to cast any tie-breaking votes.)

The impact of the political shift was immediate: The day after the election, Secretary of Defense Donald M. Rumsfeld resigned. Rumsfeld had been the chief architect of the war in Iraq and extremely controversial in his unflagging defense of the war effort.

President Bush vowed to work with the new Democratic leadership. "I know when campaigns end and governing begins," he said the day after the election. "If you hold grudges in this line of work, you never get anything done."

The Democrats' victory in the House means that Representative Nancy Pelosi of California will likely become the first woman to serve as Speaker of the House.

"Democrats are ready to lead," Pelosi said on election night. "We are prepared to govern. And we will do so working together with the administration and Republicans in Congress in partnership, not partisanship."

Across the nation, voters faced ballot questions on a variety of hot-button issues. In California, voters rejected a measure that would have taxed the state's oil production to fund alternative energy programs. Gay-marriage bans were approved in seven states: South Carolina, Idaho, Wisconsin, Tennessee, South Dakota, Colorado, and Virginia. In South Dakota, voters rejected a state law banning virtually all abortions even in cases of rape or incest. In Missouri, voters narrowly approved a measure to permit stem-cell research.

BUSH'S ROLE

By all accounts, voters were sending a clear signal in the Congressional elections. Exit polls indicated that voters across the board were unhappy with the Bush administration's handling of the Iraq war. Voters who identified themselves as independents tended to vote for Democrats, as did those who described themselves as moderates.

Nearly 4 in 10 voters said they saw their ballot as a vote against Bush. It was a remarkable turnaround for a President who just two years ago emerged triumphant from his re-election campaign.

"Tonight we have heard the great voice of Missourians, and they have said we want change," said Claire McCaskill, the Democrat who won the Missouri Senate seat.

Pelosi has outlined an ambitious agenda for the Democratic-controlled House, including raising the federal minimum wage, lifting the federal ban on funding for stem-cell research, and implementing the 9/11 Commission's recommendations.

Pelosi, 66, has served in Congress since 1987. She grew up in Baltimore, the daughter of a Democratic mayor. She was the youngest of six children, the only girl in a strict Catholic family. She came to politics later in life, after raising five children. She became involved in California state politics and was elected to Congress at age 46.

The President now faces overwhelming pressure to take a more conciliatory approach toward Congress. Much of Bush's domestic agenda--including Social Security reform and extending his tax cuts--will face even tougher prospects in Congress now.

BIPARTISAN COMEBACK?

Moreover, with a greater Democratic presence in the Senate, the President will have far less latitude in his judicial nominees--particularly if there are other openings on the Supreme Court.

But Bruce Buchanan, a political scientist at the University of Texas at Austin, says Bush certainly had the capability to practice more bipartisan politics, since that was often his style when he was the Governor of Texas.

Even if the President does that, Democrats heading into the 2008 presidential campaign may not be in the mood to reciprocate. That race is a wide-open contest for both parties, and already the presidential campaigning has begun.

Senator Barack Obama, an Illinois Democrat who's considering a run for the White House in 2008, says much can be accomplished in the next two years: "Democrats have a wonderful opportunity to show that we have an agenda for change."

Robin Toner is a correspondent in the Washington bureau of The Times.

[EXIT POLL *] How do you feel about
the war in Iraq?

Strongly approve               19%
Somewhat approve               22%
Somewhat disapprove            17%
Strongly disapprove            40%

Note: Table made from pie chart.

[EXIT POLL *] One reason for your
vote for Congress today was ...

To express support for George W. Bush            21%
George W. Bush was not a factor                  39%
To express opposition for George W. Bush         37%

Note: Table made from pie chart.

* Based on questionnaires of 12,878 voters as
they left polling places nationwide. Figures
are rounded, so they may not add up to 100.