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American Morning
Working Together in New House Control; Jerry Brown Wins as Governor of California
Aired November 03, 2010 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANNOUNCER: CNN's live coverage from the Election Center in New York continues.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning and welcome back. It is 9:00 on the East Coast; 6:00 on the West Coast. We continue with our special edition of AMERICAN MORNING on this Wednesday, November the 3rd; day after this monumental midterm elections.
I'm John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kiran Chetry. Glad you're with us on this sixth hour of coverage this morning since 3:00 a.m. Eastern time. We've been here covering the midterm elections.
We have correspondents fanned out coast to coast following all the races big and small and we'll be taking you through all the key races from "The Best Political Team on Television."
Let's get started.
One thing that we do want to talk about, some of the key races still undecided at this hour but one thing that is clearly decided, the balance of the power has shifted this morning in the House.
Republicans win control of the House and that's really the new reality for the president that he's going to have to work across the aisle with the House of Representatives now. The GOP riding a wave of voter anger, gaining at least at this point 60 seats. That's more than the GOP gained with the Contract with America back in 1994. And also, the biggest swing since 1948.
The president, by the way, is going to be speaking later today, 1:00 Eastern. And we're also going to be hearing from the next speaker of the House, John Boehner.
Let's talk about the Senate for a second, though. In the Senate, Democrats held on to control but just barely. They do retain control of the upper chamber despite some big losses.
One of the wins, Harry Reid, he will still be the majority leader of the Senate but his majority will have dwindled to the bare minimum, just 51 seats in Democratic hands in the Senate.
Harry Reid, as we said, still has his job this morning. The Senate majority leader getting strong support from minority voters, was able to defeat Tea Party-backed Republican Sharron Angle by five points in Nevada last night. When you take a look, 50-45 in that race.
Let's take a look at another race. This is the Kentucky Senate race where Rand Paul, Tea Party candidate, did very well. Ninety-seven percent of the votes have been counted right now and Rand Paul has an easy win, 56 percent for Rand Paul, 44 percent for Jack Conway, his competitor.
Paul has said in the past that he wants to abolish the U.S. Department of Education.
Let's head to Florida right now where Marco Rubio is now bound for the Senate. He is the son of Cuban immigrants, he's soundly defeated Governor Charlie Crist as well as Democratic Congressman Kendrick Meek.
Here you see the results out of Florida. Marco Rubio with 49 percent of the vote. He also may have ended Crist's political career. He bolted his own party in April to run as an independent.
Let's check out Ohio right now. We talked a lot about Ohio. This is where Republicans knocked the Democrats out in one of nine governorships in all. Including a major victory for John Kasich. John Kasich defeating the state's incumbent governor, Ted Strickland, despite some intense last-minute campaigning from President Obama himself.
Here you see the final numbers for Ohio, 49 percent going to John Kasich, 47 percent to Ted Strickland -- John?
ROBERTS: Well, Republicans have seized control of the House picking up more than 60 seats now. Ohio's John Boehner now stands to become the next speaker replacing Nancy Pelosi.
He already got a call from President Obama offering him congratulations and he says last night's election results should send a very clear signal to the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R), OHIO: Well, our new majority will be your voice in the people's House, we must remember it's the president who sets the agenda for our government.
The American people have sent an unmistakable message to him tonight and that message is change course.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: President Obama called Boehner last night to offer up his best wishes for the win last night and talked about working together in the future. The Ohio congressman says that their conversation was cordial. The two men agreeing to find common ground to work together after that bruising campaign.
Ed Henry live in Washington this morning. And Boehner has spent weeks promising to dismantle just about everything that the president has accomplished, so question this morning, can they realistically work together?
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That is the big question, and a reality check is for all the talk on both sides about what a great phone call they had last night, one phone call is not going to turn this around.
And the fact of the matter is from the White House perspective they feel like, sure, there's pressure when you talk to senior aides. Pressure on this president to maybe move to the center but by the same token they think there's now pressure on John Boehner and his colleagues to move to the center, as well.
Because even though they're coming off this election high, they've spent almost two years now at the beginning of the Obama administration saying no to virtually everything.
And as you said, John Boehner in this campaign was vowing to dismantle, you know, key pieces of the Obama agenda like health care reform, Wall Street reform, et cetera. And so what the White House is hoping is that the message out of this election is not just anti- Obama, but it's maybe anti-Washington and pro these guys on both guys finally getting together to get some things done.
And so they believe that the silver lining if there is any for this White House is the fact that now John Boehner and Republicans on the hill have some responsibility to get things done.
For almost two years now, they have been able in the White House's estimation, to sit on the sidelines -- John.
ROBERTS: So the Democrats, I'm sure, are looking for someone to blame. Is anyone in the president's inner circle about to pay for what happened last night?
HENRY: It doesn't appear that they're really going to throw somebody overboard because they realized, when you talk to senior aides here, that there were a lot of forces that were against them here.
Chiefly that unemployment number of 9.6 percent that virtually anything they threw out there in terms of a message was going to get -- be thrown back at them because of the anger out there largely on the economy.
And so we're going to continue to see some shuffling. There's a lot of talk that, for example, Robert Gibbs may move out of the press secretary job, but he would become a senior adviser or maybe even the Democratic National Committee chairman.
Bottom line, he'd still be in the inner circle in some way. Same for David Axelrod. We're hearing early next year he's likely to go to Chicago, probably have a big role in the campaign, the reelect campaign for 2012, which by the way begins today for both the Democrats and the Republicans. Unofficially, of course. But there's going to be reshuffling of the inner circle but unlikely somebody is going to be -- thrown overboard and that could be a problem for this president because there are going to be some critics saying he needs a radical reshuffling -- John.
ROBERTS: All right. Ed Henry for us at the White House this morning. Ed, thanks so much.
HENRY: Thank you.
ROBERTS: The president will address the nation at a news conference this afternoon. It's scheduled for 1:00 p.m. Eastern. Of course CNN is going to carry that live for you. You can also pick it up on CNN.com -- Kiran?
CHETRY: John, thanks.
Well, South Carolina making history electing its first female governor. Last night, Republican Nikki Haley defeated Democrat Vincent Shaheen to become not only the state's first woman governor but the nation's second -- only second -- Indian American governor.
Earlier we had a chance to talk to Haley about her win as well as the new political landscape.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: How do you view the win this morning? There's a lot talk about, you know, this being a rebuke of the current administration, a rebuke of establishment candidates. How do you view it this morning as you get set to lead the state of South Carolina?
NIKKI HALEY (R), SOUTH CAROLINA GOVERNOR-ELECT: This was people finding the power of their voice. It was people saying we want government to remember who it is that they work for. We want government to know the value of a dollar and we want jobs and the economy to come first.
This was all about the people saying we have had enough. It wasn't about a party. It was about taking their state and their country back, and it started with South Carolina and we are thrilled.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, the 38-year-old state legislator was a Tea Party favorite. She had an early endorsement from former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. She was one of Sarah Palin's mama grizzlies -- John.
ROBERTS: And will be continue to be, no question about that.
You're watching continuing coverage of the post-election analysis with context and perspective.
Jerry Brown helps California Democrats score a big win. He's heading back to Sacramento. We're going to take you there. And Californians say no to pot. A bid to legalize marijuana gets snuffed out. We'll have that for you, as well.
Seven-and-a-half minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It gained national attention but California's Proposition 19 which would have legalized the recreational use of marijuana never gained traction with voters. Prop 19 went down to defeat on Tuesday.
The ballot measure would have allowed local governments to regulate and tax the production, distribution and sale of pot to adults. Obviously, a tragedy for those folks there in that picture.
Bucking the national trend, it was a good night for Democrats in California. Barbara Boxer held on to her Senate seat and in the race for Governor Jerry Brown scored an impressive double-digit victory over Meg Whitman earning Brown a return trip to California state house.
Everything old is new again. Dan Simon is following that story for us.
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jerry Brown has to overcome a couple of key obstacles to win this race. He had to overcome the wave of conservatism that swept this country last night.
He also had to overcome Meg Whitman's checkbook. She of course dumped more than $140 million into this campaign. When Jerry Brown becomes governor once again, the state facing an unprecedented situation that he has to deal with. The state facing more than 12 percent unemployment rate and a $12 budget deficit.
He was 36 years old when he became governor the first time. Now he's 72.
JERRY BROWN (D), GOVERNOR-ELECT: And I'm hoping and I'm praying that this breakdown that's going on for so many years in the state capital and we're watching it in Washington, that the breakdown paves the way for a breakthrough. And that's the spirit that I want to take back to Sacramento 28 years later, full of energy, full of creativity and ready to serve you, the people of California.
SIMON: Dan Simon, CNN, Oakland.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: All right. Dan Simon for us this morning, thanks so much. Kiran?
CHETRY: John, still ahead, the Tea Party certainly celebrating a few victories this morning, but what does it mean for the future of the anti-establishment party? We're going to discuss with our distinguished panel still ahead. It's 12 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Sixteen minutes after the hour. The balance of power in the Senate just above you here, it's 51 for the Democrats and it was 47 for the Republicans. The Republicans came close to getting a majority in both houses, but here's one of the reasons why they didn't get it in the Senate.
Chris Coons, the winner in the state of Delaware, and here's the numbers. He took O'Donnell, the Republican Tea Party challenger, to town, 56 percent to 40 percent. That's a substantial win. It looked like it would have gone to Mike Castle had he become the nominee but, of course, way back when in the Republican primaries, Christine O'Donnell and the Tea Party managed to kick out Mike Castle and, so, there's the results of the election.
She was putting the blame on the Republican establishment just a little while ago for her loss. Saying, "Maybe if they had gotten behind me, I could have done a little bit better than I did." Kiran talked to her. Here's what she had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTINE O'DONNELL (R), FORMER DELAWARE SENATE CANDIDATE: Had, when all that stuff come out, the establishment come out and helped carry that load, helped deflect some of that so it wasn't on just on us, to defend these ridiculous accusations, this mischaracterization of who I am.
Senator Cornyn says, "There was nothing we can do, we didn't have enough money. But if he and Karl Rove had said, "Look, she's articulate on the issues," as many people after watching our debates were able to say. If she (sic) had said, "Hey, they're just trying to create a distraction." There was verbal support that they could have offered as pundits, so to speak, that they chose not to for whatever reasons. Sore feelings, whatever.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: O'Donnell didn't say whether or not she would consider a future run for office, but she said she's not ruling it out, either. Kiran?
CHETRY: She didn't win, but how did the rest of the Tea Party do in the election? Does the GOP owe them a thank you for helping them take the House?
Joining me now, former Bush White House Chief of Staff Andy Card, Republican strategist Leslie Sanchez, Washington DC reporter Cord Jefferson, with The Root.com, and Democratic strategist Cornell Belcher as well as Democratic strategist Richard Zimmerman. Great to see all of you this morning.
It was interesting, Andy, to get your take on this, Christine O'Donnell in some ways saying that if the establishment had not tried to sink her from the start, had helped get behind her, had helped tamp down a lot of the jokes that were made at her expense after the Bill Maher appearances, that she may have won. What do you think?
ANDY CARD, FORMER WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: I think it would have been difficult to get her to the victory stand. Look at -- she was a good candidate. She wasn't a great candidate. But the people in Delaware spoke in the primary, and they spoke in the general election. I think we've got to move on.
ROBERT ZIMMERMAN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Andy?
CARD: There are a lot of challenges ahead right now, and we've got to rally the country and deal with those challenges.
ZIMMERMAN: Andy, she's the Snooki of American politics. The idea that, you know, she'll end up with a reality TV show, she'll probably get a book deal out of it.
The bottom line is, when you saw all the other insurgents win throughout the country and her -- and she failed, it wasn't -- her failure, it wasn't because the Republican establishment was against her or the media ganged up on her. It's because she was inept as a candidate, not knowing the Constitution, and of course her appearances on Bill Maher really underscored how unfit she was for public office.
CORNELL BELCHER, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: And what I think is --
CARD: There are seldom perfect candidates, and she was definitely not a perfect candidate.
ZIMMERMAN: And we seldom agree, so that's really encouraging.
BELCHER: But this also does show this sort of -- the rose and the thorn with the rose that comes with the Tea Party. Yes, you're going to get the energy at your base but, however, you're also going to get some candidates that are outside the mainstream. And I think long term, you've got to look at that. I think hats off to the Tea Party.
CARD: It has to do with Democrats and Republicans --
(CROSSTALK)
BELCHER: It's well -- but arguably
CARD: And liberals and conservatives.
BELCHER: But arguably, with that Tea Party, I think you guys take the Senate this year.
CORD JEFFERSON, REPORTER, "THE ROOT": What I think is interesting, especially, is that so many of these Tea Party Republicans came forth saying, "We reject the Republican mainstream. We reject mainstream politics in general."
And now, it turns out that when they end up losing these races, as O'Donnell did horribly last night, she's coming now and saying, "Well, if the Republican establishment had embraced me a bit more, it would have been better for all of us."
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: I think her point was after the --
CARD: Would have, could have, should have --
CHETRY: But I think her point was, after the -- in the primary, she soundly defeated Mike Castle, who is pretty popular in the state, except that people this time around thought he was a RINO. Why didn't they, then, coalesce around her to help her out.
(CROSSTALK)
BELCHER: But Palin's also making the same argument --
LESLIE SANCHEZ, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I think she made that argument.
BELCHER: Palin, that your nominee, is also making the same argument, the establishment's --
SANCHEZ: I picked her personally. Thank you. I love that I get that kind of credit. Let me just tell you. Let's talk about Sarah Palin for a minute. She has 60 endorsements. She went in very strong in the primary, about 60 percent -- 70 percent got through to the primary, she had about 47 percent won on election day. That's tremendously --
ZIMMERMAN: Leslie, she's the winner tonight.
SANCHEZ: She really is --
CHETRY: Why is she the winner?
SANCHEZ: She drew attention. She definitely drew attention to these candidates, spotlighted them, they raised money --
CHETRY: Right, but we have Christine O'Donnell --
SANCHEZ: She's one candidate.
CHETRY: Right. And then, we have Alaska. Joe Miller would lose, as well.
(CROSSTALK)
CARD: Sarah Palin has the courage of her convictions and put them out --
BELCHER: So, she's the leader of your party.
SANCHEZ: No.
CARD: She is a leader within our party.
(CROSS TALK)
ZIMMERMAN: You have to --
CARD: A leader within our party.
ZIMMERMAN: You've got to include Rush Limbaugh in the mix. Talk about the leadership of the Republican Party, and that may be the --
SANCHEZ: No. Not at all.
ZIMMERMAN: That may be their fatal flaw come 2012. Because ultimately, the Republican Party's allowed itself to be defined by the extreme right wing and the philosophicals of --
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: I think to me --
ZIMMERMAN: The philosophical bigotry of a Rush Limbaugh and a Sarah Palin.
SANCHEZ: Not at all.
CARD: This election more about President Obama than it was about Sarah Palin.
SANCHEZ: It was a nationalized election, and I think the White House tried to push that third rail, like saying it's Rush Limbaugh and, you know, trying to triangulate themselves. It didn't work, people didn't buy it --
(CROSSTALK)
CARD: It was President Obama and Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid.
BELCHER: Part of your --
SANCHEZ: It was a repudiation of the those extreme policies.
BELCHER: Part of your problem is that the leader of your party right now has, you know, in Palin, has a higher negative than any of the Democrats.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: It is -- we have many leaders within the party.
ZIMMERMAN: Listen to Andy's point, which I think is very, very valid. Ultimately, this was a referendum on the Obama administration's agenda. And we Democrats --
CARD: And Congress.
ZIMMERMAN: Of course. The Congress supported it. And the reality is, you hear a lot of talk from the White House about the need to communicate better. SANCHEZ: Right.
ZIMMERMAN: In fairness, the communication shop couldn't sell cocaine to Charlie Sheen.
CHETRY: Had to go there.
ZIMMERMAN: I had to go there.
(CROSSTALK)
ZIMMERMAN: It's about listening.
CHETRY: I just want to bring it back -- you brought that up. Evan Bayh, Evan Bayh wrote an op-ed, interestingly enough, saying that Democrats forgot that they should be more centrist and that was the problem. He argues it wasn't just a communication problem, he said that you can't blame the voters. They're not stupid. They're not addled by fear. They're skeptical about the efficiency of the government.
And he goes on to say that there shouldn't be anything done, no policy, discussion, or movement, unless it's about growing the economy.
ZIMMERMAN: That's very true, but here's an interesting point. You heard Mike Pence, the leader in the Republican Congress, just interviewed with John Roberts. And said on his interview with John this morning that, in fact, it's not up to the -- the election was not about the need for Republican Congress to work with the president. It was about undoing what President Obama did. That doesn't speak about going forward, it doesn't speak about focusing on jobs and building our economy --
BELCHER: Quickly. And you also talk about repealing health care. Right now in exit polling, there's not a majority sort of who are for repealing health care. Now, one thing he brought out was --
ZIMMERMAN: He called it repeal and replace --
SANCHEZ: Repeal it and replace it.
CARD: Repeal and replacing.
BELCHER: You know what he also talked about? Bailout. Who brought us bailout? That wasn't Barack Obama.
ZIMMERMAN: No.
BELCHER: I mean, so that's the sort of --
CARD: It was a bridge. It was a bridge.
ZIMMERMAN: A lot of responsibility to deal with the issues.
CARD: It's President Obama's responsibility to take the wake-up call that came yesterday. It was a huge wakeup call --
(CROSSTALK)
CARD: President Obama's responsibility to say, "I will work with you, Republicans in Congress."
CHETRY: Leslie, I want to ask you this. You can't -- I mean, this is the problem, it seems, for everybody is that the GOP establishment perhaps didn't have their ear to the ground. Democrats, perhaps, didn't, in that people are discounting the fact that --
CARD: The president didn't.
CHETRY: People came out to vote.
SANCHEZ: Right.
CHETRY: The Tea Party energized people to come out to vote. So what happens now? How much should that insurgent anger that brought people out there be listened to? How do you govern with it?
SANCHEZ: The truth is, it's a wake-up call for both Democrats and Republicans.
CHETRY: Right.
SANCHEZ: We're at the point now where people want instant gratification, they expect their leaders to listen to them. They gave the House with Republicans the power of the purse. They wanted to share power to that extent, and actually it's really a good thing overall that the Senate didn't flip. Because that way you don't have the Obama administration saying, "I'm fighting entirely all the Republicans." It lines up a more balanced approach. Will the president move to more centrist ideas? Follow the Bill Clinton model, and actually do something.
ZIMMERMAN: The first test of this theory is going to be when we have to deal with raising the debt ceiling, which by -- where there is strong bipartisan agreement has to be done to preserve our credit rating to avoid international economic crisis.
What's going to happen when Rand Paul as a senator can single- handedly filibuster this issue of delay -- filibuster and curtail raising the debt ceiling? What happens then? That's going to be the first test of how this Congress works together.
CARD: It will believe a test of the president's leadership.
ZIMMERMAN: You can't pass the buck, Andy.
SANCHEZ: No, actually, it's not.
CARD: The president's leadership.
ZIMMERMAN: The Senate's going to have to overcome that filibuster. Where do the eight Republican votes come to do it? BELCHER: You don't get it. But let me push back on this narrative a little bit, too, this whole idea of centrist. Right now, Americans paying less -- Tea Party's less taxes, smaller government. Right now you know what? We're paying less taxes than we've paid since the '50s. That's a fact. Right now, you know what? The federal government isn't growing, the federal government is shrinking. The number of federal employees actually shrunk under Barack Obama. Part of it is messaging, this idea that he's got become centrist. We've lowered taxes. We've pulled the economy up.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: This is --
CARD: How's that --
SANCHEZ: I think that's --
ZIMMERMAN: It is.
JEFFERSON: It's a problem.
BELCHER: I do push back on that.
JEFFERSON: Going back --
CARD: Answer your phone. Hello?
JEFFERSON: I don't think the voters --
CARD: Who's on it?
JEFFERSON: Going back to what Evan Bayh is saying, I don't think the voters are stupid, but I do think that a lot of the American voters were ignorant about what Obama has actually accomplished. I think that voters thought that -- two thirds of the electorate thought that Obama had raised taxes. That's not true.
ZIMMERMAN: Right.
JEFFERSON: Two thirds of the voters thought the economy had shrunk, that's not -- had been shrinking for the past five quarters. That's not true.
(CROSSTALK)
JEFFERSON: These are not true facts. So you can't have a referendum against Obama's policies if you don't know what his policies are.
SANCHEZ: To be fair to this point, the Democrats and the White House have tried to play communications triage. That is not what this is about. I think the voters are crystal clear that the president made a giant grab in terms of federalizing health care, concerns with these deficits. Concerns with --
(CROSSTALK)
BELCHER: See --
SANCHEZ: Bailouts.
CHETRY: We have to take a break. We'll continue.
BELCHER: This is the health care, you're going to continue to have health care.
SANCHEZ: The --
CARD: The policies were bad. The communication was worse.
ZIMMERMAN: Talk amongst yourselves.
BELCHER: The policies were very --
CHETRY: Thank you, Robert. We're going to take a quick break. We're going to continue this conversation, don't worry. Twenty-seven minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: CNN's live coverage from the Election Center in New York continues.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JIM DEMINT (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: I can only feel the ground shaking here, because there's an earthquake election going on all over this country.
(AUDIENCE CHEERS)
DEMINT: And it's really because people have realized that freedom, that their future, that this country is in their hands. It's not in the hands of politicians.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: That was nearly re-elected South Carolina senator Jim DeMint on the Republican Party's big wins. DeMint handily defeated Democratic opponent Alvin Greene to earn a second term in the US Senate.
The news wasn't all bad for Democrats last night, though. Senator Harry Reid pulled out a victory over Tea Party star Sharon Angle. With that win, he retains his title as the Majority Leader of the Senate. But he says there will be compromise ahead, even with health care reform.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Senator, just so I've got this straight, you say you're not against reopening the health care bill and potentially looking at some changes along with your Republican colleagues in the House?
HARRY REID (D), SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: Health care bill is very important. I wish the Republicans had worked with us when we did the health care bill. If there's some tweaking we need to do, with health care bill, I'm ready for some tweaking but I'm not going to in any way denigrate the great work we did as a country in saving America from bankruptcy because of the insurance industry bankrupting us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: The victory earns Reid a fifth term in the U.S. Senate. But on the other side of the hill, there will be a brand-new speaker of the House, John Boehner, the man two heartbeats away from the presidency. The balance of power shifting dramatically and shifting historically there. The GOP gained at least 60 seats. That's the biggest swing since 1948.
Our Tom Foreman is here now to show us the new look at the map this morning. We were following 100 of these great races, and boy, what races they were. But can you imagine, 60 seats? That's worse than what happened in 1994.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, you know this because you cover politics closely. But I'm telling you at home, if you really are not a big political junkie and you're just looking to saying it's just another race, this is not just another race.
Look at this wall up here. This is covered now with all of these reds for Republicans where they won in places where the Democrats, yesterday, had it all colored blue. Many of them in the class of 2008, these are the people that came in with Barack Obama, these are the people that came in when Nancy Pelosi over as the speaker of the House. Many of these folks went through an awful lot of hand wringing in the past few years because they thought they were here to change everything in Washington, D.C. and now change has rolled over again and not just here, John.
Let's walk over here to look at Senate and look at the color in all of this because I think that's the way to easily, easily see it. This was the map yesterday in the House. And I can't do this enough because it's so shocking.
ROBERTS: This is what really hurts Democrats.
FOREMAN: This was yesterday. Democrats look at this yesterday and they say, look at us. We have all the inroads out of here. And this is what they have today. All of that ground lost.
Look at this over here. This is a good one to look at. We fly into Virginia here. Look. They made big changes here. The Democrats made big inroads here under Barack Obama, trying to make big things happen. Look at this district right down here. The president went down and campaigned for him.
ROBERTS: And they lost. FOREMAN: And, boom there it went. And the picture is the same in so many other place.
We pull out the Senate races, the same thing. This was yesterday. This is today, the governor's races. This was yesterday. This is today. That's the new reality, the new map and all of that red means a lot.
ROBERTS: They've been selling a lot of red paint down at the paint store.
FOREMAN: Yes, maybe selling it for a little while. But who knows, two years from now, maybe a lot of blue paint.
ROBERTS: Well, two years ago Republicans were decimated. They were gone forever people thought.
FOREMAN: Yes.
ROBERTS: Phoenix rising from the ashes.
FOREMAN: I actually wonder if one of the issues with the two parties is, people keep saying -- you know, the Democrats say, they voted for us. Republicans say, they voted for us. You could argue that all the voters really are voting for, time and again, is change and accountability. And that the voters actually are united in that. They're voting very consistently.
ROBERTS: When they vote for change and don't get it, they go somewhere else.
FOREMAN: They go somewhere else.
ROBERTS: All right. Tom, thanks so much. Kiran.
CHETRY: John, thanks.
In his new memoir, former President Bush writes that he once considered running without then-Vice President Dick Cheney. We'll have more on why, coming up. Thirty-three minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Thirty-seven and a half minutes after the hour. We're back with a special edition of AMERICAN MORNING continuing our extensive post-election coverage in just a moment.
Right now, though, let's get a quick check of other stories that are making new this morning with our Alina Cho.
Good morning, Alina.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, good morning to you.
Outside the world of politics, we are following a big, developing story at this hour. Shots were fired again at a Military facility near the nation's capital. Police say a Coast Guard recruiting station in Woodbridge, Virginia was targeted early yesterday morning. This is the fifth shooting there in a little more than two weeks. No one was hurt and no word on a motive yet. So far, the FBI has linked the first four shootings.
The first fascinating tidbit is coming out from former President George W. Bush's new memoir. According to the "New York Times," the former president writes that he briefly considered dropping then-Vice President Dick Cheney from his 2004 re-election ticket. The idea apparently came from Cheney himself. Cheney's replacement, Bush writes would have been former Senator Bill Frist.
The final launch for the Space Shuttle Discovery is delayed again. This time because of an apparent glitch with the engine computer controller. The shuttle is now scheduled to blast off tomorrow afternoon, weather permitting, of course. NASA tells us on its 39th mission the Discovery and its crew will bring spare parts to the International Space Station.
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROBERTS: Midterm election behind us now but for the politicians, the fight for 2012 has already begun. Just get done with one election and another one's on the way. Presidential hopeful stumping in New Hampshire already. What about Iowa? We'll take a look at who the front-runners are and how things may shape up two years from now. Stay with us.
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CHETRY: Welcome back. Forty-three minutes past the hour right now.
Republicans are now firmly in control of the House of Representatives. And that means a likely new House speaker as well as the man in line to become House Majority Leader. There you see them. John Boehner there on the right. And on your left, that was Eric Cantor. Well, they had a brief photo opportunity today. Also, John Boehner took a phone call -- a congratulatory phone call -- from the president last night.
Well, you can score one for the Democrats in New Hampshire. The state's incumbent Democratic governor John Lynch won re-election, a six-point victory over Republican John Stephen. Here's a look at the final numbers in New Hampshire.
Meantime, more impressive, that was the Senate race there where conservative Republican Kelly Ayotte, who was endorsed by Sarah Palin easily defeated Democratic Congressman Paul Hodes to keep retiring Senator Judd Gregg's seat. That was in the GOP column.
This morning, attention is being focused on the granite state for another reason, as well. And that is the first presidential primary. The race for 2012 starts today. Jason Carroll's live in Tilton, New Hampshire, for us with a look ahead for us. Hey, Jason.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And good morning to you, Kiran. You know, it's never too early a place like New Hampshire. Here at the Tilton Diner as the folks wait for their warm food to arrive, also waiting to see which potential GOP candidate will pass through these doors again. In the past, we've seen names like Romney, we've seen names like Huckabee come through here.
The question is, who will be next and when?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL (voice-over): Just when you thought it was over -
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: CNN is now ready to make a major projection, the Republicans will take control of the House of Representatives.
GOV. TIM PAWLENTY, MINNESOTA: It's a massive undertaking, and it's a lot of work.
CARROLL: The candidates are back on the road. The calendar may read 2010, but for Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, it's 2012.
PAWLENTY: Something that takes a while to get up and running. And particularly for someone who is not well known, you've got to do that much more and start that much earlier and work that much harder.
CARROLL: Pawlenty is not the only Republican who has made early visits to New Hampshire, the first primary state in the nation. Mississippi Governor Haley Barber, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and former Massachusetts Governor, Mitt Romney have already been here several times this year.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are we happy to have Mitt Romney here?
CARROLL: And while none have formally declared their candidacy, some are certainly sounding presidential.
Don't spend money we don't have, live within our means, and hold true to the values that have made America such a strong country.
DR. ELIZABETH OSSOFF, NLH INSTITUTE OF POLITICS: It's already started.
CARROLL: Dr. Elizabeth Ossoff knows the importance of campaigning early here. She's the director of research at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics.
OSSOFF: If you don't make that personal connection with the New Hampshire voter, you are not going to get their time of day. You're not going to get them -
CARROLL (on camera): Couldn't you say that about any state?
OSSOFF: No, because New Hampshirites are used to that. There's an expectation on the part of the New Hampshire voter that if I don't get to meet you, if I don't at least get to see you at someone's house, I am not going to pay attention to you.
CARROLL (voice-over): Ossoff she says the concerns facing New Hampshire voters are the same as the rest of the country. Jobs, government spending, taxes, and health care. It's clear to those potential candidates the importance of getting out early. But also, to keep it in perspective.
MITT ROMNEY (R), FMR. MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR: You never know how it's going to work out. I think President Obama didn't win New Hampshire. And he won the whole shooting match.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: Very good point there.
Now, there was one other name -- there was one other name that we did not mention and that was Sarah Palin. Sarah Palin, of course, was here in New Hampshire back in '08.
However, Kiran, she was in Iowa earlier this year so you can read into that whatever you'd like -- Kiran.
CHETRY: 2012 starting already. Boy, Jason Carroll for us this morning, thanks so much -- John.
ROBERTS: So if the 2012 campaign is actually under way, who's got the potential inside track on becoming the nominee on the Republican side? We'll talk about the race for 2012 and the midterm election results with our distinguished panel of political guests coming right up.
It's 47 minutes after the hour.
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ROBERTS: Nine minutes now to the top of the hour.
The Republicans take back the House by a landslide; Democrats retain the Senate by a hair and now folks already asking, what about 2012?
Yes. The midterm elections are so Tuesday. Joining me now is the former White House Chief of Staff for President Bush Andy Card.
CARD: I don't think anybody is really asking that.
ROBERTS: Yes, we're asking this morning, Andy. Just go with it.
Will Cain, host of "Off the Page" in the National Review Online; Carl Jefferson, Washington reporter with the Root.com; political analyst Mark Lamont Hill and Democratic strategist, Robert Zimmerman.
So out of all of the candidates who are out there, Andy Card, who do you think has got the inside track at this point? I know it's a long way away.
CARD: It's a long way away. Sarah Palin has the excitement momentum, Mitt Romney has the organization and infrastructure. Tim Pawlenty is -- got the most energy to date in terms of trying to build infrastructure. I think there are a lot of people in the wings. Newt Gingrich is still the idea man and he's out there.
So I think it's a wide open field. And that's exactly what it should be. Let people go out and audition and gain traction and gain momentum. I'd take a look at some of the successful people in this process. Haley Barbour certainly was the de facto Chairman of the Republican Party this year and made a big difference.
ROBERTS: Yes.
CARD: But I -- I think Mitch Daniels in Indiana should be out there and kind of seeing what the traction would be.
ROBERTS: Yes.
CARD: But it's wide open. Mitt Romney, though, he's the front- runner in terms of the infrastructure of getting the job done, raising the money, spending it wisely, and building an organization.
ZIMMERMAN: And ask Rudy -- and ask Rudy Giuliani what it means to be a front-runner this far out. I mean his -- his Florida strategy was brilliant.
CARD: It was great for the local economy. You know we should have hope there on that one too.
ZIMMERMAN: Let me -- the bottom line is this kind of speculations are very important because it keeps political pundits off the street. And it's also great for the local economies too, for these regions. But I think it's so important to remember these early challenges, especially in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, they're all about organization and it's all about how you can early -- in fact, deliver your vote in these very competitive contests.
ROBERTS: Let me just jump in here for a second because we did ask this question in our exit poll of Republicans in Iowa. Who would you like to see when the 2012 caucuses? Huckabee was number -- was tied with Romney at 21 percent for number one, Sarah Palin right behind at 18, and Gingrich way back at number seven.
Will -- Will, who do you -- who do you like?
WILL CAIN, NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE: Well, John, there has been and there will be a whole host of people lining up to harness the new energy of the conservative electorate. And Andy mentioned a lot of the names here: Romney, Huckabee, Gingrich.
But the energy that we're talking about of the conservative electorate, the Tea Party energy has been slow to wed themselves to any particular leader and I would say the person who stands to benefit right now is someone who had exhibited actions as opposed to just words.
For me, that would be New Jersey Governor, Chris Christie, who's shown no interest yet.
ROBERTS: I don't -- the wrecking ball.
MARC LAMONT HILL, POLITICAL ANALYST: Christie is something -- Christie is doing all of the right things, you know, with education, with the economy. But I don't think he has the image that will translate into votes. You know what I mean.
ROBERTS: No, I don't know what you mean.
CARD: We can talk that --
LAMONT HILL: Quite frankly the 2012 election was to become a revival of the Obama fan club. Even if the Democrats are strong, Obama has a base that defies every other political kind of logic. And so you need a Republican candidate who's a populist candidate. Someone who is exciting, someone who's attractive and someone that people want to see. I think that person, believe it or not, is actually Mike Huckabee.
Sarah Palin would be viable except she has too many negatives and too many people who oppose her. Mike Huckabee is a dark horse candidate who can get it done.
CAIN: Let me say this Marc. I think by bantering around the same names we've heard for two years: Romney, Huckabee, Gingrich, we are neglecting to understand the message from last night. And that is -- it's summed up by Marco Rubio in his speech.
And that is, this is not -- this election is not an embrace of Republicans. It is a second chance for Republicans to be what they promised to be not long ago. I think we need to look for candidates in two years to reflect that.
HILL: No, I agree.
ZIMMERMAN: The conservative vote that comes out of Iowa, certainly in South Carolina and also to some degree in New Hampshire. Remember, Mitt Romney is going to carry New Hampshire because he lives there -- he owns half, his home covers half the state.
ROBERTS: In fact in our exit poll, he got 39 percent. Way ahead of anyone --
(CROSSTALK)
ZIMMERMAN: Sure because the person who finishes number two -- the person who finishes number two in New Hampshire, like, for example, Bill Clinton did, is going to walk out with momentum. Sarah Palin can harness that religious conservative movement in Iowa and organize it. She then goes in to New Hampshire, finishes number two, into South Carolina where she designated and she nominated --
ROBERTS: She polled number one.
(CROSSTALK)
CARD: Sarah Palin might --
ZIMMERMAN: How come when I bring up Sarah Palin, Republicans get nervous?
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I get so excited when people mention Sarah Palin. I start licking my chops.
ROBERTS: Let me just ask Andy, when is the last time a house member became the nominee?
CARD: A very, very, very long time ago, but the process is just starting. Let people get a good name.
ROBERTS: Andy still doesn't want --
(CROSSTALK)
CARD: I love politics. It's a passion, and I love America, and the constitution is an invitation for us. Let's see who is going to answer the invitation.
ROBERTS: On that point then, you are running a candidate. Who do you think best fits into the where the electorate is now?
CARD: John Ellis Bush.
ZIMMERMAN: Andy, can any Republican win the nomination without being blessed and endorsed by Rush Limbaugh?
CARD: We don't know what traction Rush Limbaugh is going to have two years from now.
ZIMMERMAN: He's good. Andy's good.
HILL: The answer is no, but that's a heck of a response.
ROBERTS: You don't have Andy's career without being --
ZIMMERMAN: Exactly. He's good at what he does.
HILL: It's called dipping and dodging. Yes. I love it. I love it.
ROBERTS: Well, it's going to be a long road to 2012 but we will be there every step of the way. Thanks. Appreciate it gentlemen.
CARD: Thank you.
ROBERTS: Americans very worried about the economy. That's obvious in poll after poll. It was the number one issue yesterday in the election. Who exactly do they blame for it? We have some very interesting exit poll results from the election coming up in our next hour here on AMERICAN MORNING, a special edition, post election. Stay with us.
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