Congress full of drama, hope

By James Oliphant - Chicago Tribune

WASHINGTON — As the new Senate opened for business on Tuesday, it offered more story lines than a nightly telenovela.

In one corner stood Sen. Joe Biden, who soon will resign his Senate seat to assume the vice presidency. Not far away sat Sen. John McCain, who lost to Biden and the man at the top of the ticket, President-elect and former Sen. Barack Obama.

On the other side of the room sat Sen. Hillary Clinton, vanquished by Obama in the Democratic primaries but now likely to leave the Senate soon to serve as secretary of state. Close by sat Sen. Joe Lieberman, almost tossed out of the Democratic caucus for his support of McCain.

If that weren't enough, outgoing Vice President Dick Cheney presided over the opening session. He administered the oath of office for Biden.

But the drama inside the chamber was matched by events beyond it. Earlier in the day, Roland Burris of Illinois tried to gain admittance to the Senate, but was turned away because of faulty paperwork — Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White has refused to certify the embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich's appointment.

And, although Senate Democrats have proclaimed political comedian Al Franken winner of a Senate seat in Minnesota in his extended battle with incumbent Republican Norm Coleman, they won't admit Franken until he, too, has a better legal claim on the post. Results certified Monday showed he won by 225 votes. Coleman filed suit Tuesday challenging the results.

All in all, if Franken holds on, Democrats will have taken eight Senate seats away from Republicans. This will increase pressure to deliver on legislation, something that became nearly impossible in the last Congress, wracked with partisan warfare.

"Both parties learned an important lesson over the past two years," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Tuesday. "When we allow ourselves to retreat into the tired, well-worn trenches of partisanship, when we fail to reach for common ground, when we are unable, in the words of President-elect Obama, to disagree without being disagreeable, we diminish our ability to accomplish real change."

Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, was re-elected as speaker Tuesday. After the vote, Pelosi and House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio offered conciliatory words promising to transcend partisan bickering.

"Obama has expressed a desire to govern from the center," Boehner said. "When our president extends his hand across the aisle to do what's right for the country, Republicans will extend ours in return."