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The Situation Room

Democrats Pick Hoyer Over Murtha; McCain Begins Exploring Presidential Run; Steny Hoyer Interview

Aired November 16, 2006 - 16:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: To our viewers, you're in THE SITUATION ROOM where new pictures and information are arriving all the time. Standing by, CNN reporters across the United States and around the world to bring you today's top stories.
Happening now -- a family feud featuring the lady of the house and her fellow Democrats. House Leader Nancy Pelosi, little surprise she'll be the next Speaker, but her coattails weren't long enough for the man she wanted to serve by her side.

Also, the explorer. Republican John McCain scouts for a new address, perhaps it's 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. To broker some support, he's out courting conservatives. But is the maverick senator the wake-up call he says his party needs?

And who is afraid of the big bad frontrunner? In the crop of presidential prospects, it's no myth that both Democrats and Republicans fear some politicians more than others. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

You can't always get what you want. That's the lesson learned today by Democratic Congressman John Murtha of Pennsylvania. For weeks, he and fellow Democrat Steny Hoyer of Maryland battled a bruising fight to be the next House majority leader, but in the end, only one man was left standing, the winner. Hoyer trounced Murtha for the post.

Now some are suggesting that the 'D' in Democrat stands for defiance because Democrats denied incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi her pick for number two. She had endorsed Murtha for the majority leader position, but she did get something else she really wanted. House Democrats today unanimously elected her to be the next Speaker of the House. Our Congressional correspondent Dana Bash watched it all unfold on Capitol Hill. She's joining us now live -- Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well Wolf, what we saw today really was a moment in history. Democrats elected the first female Speaker of the House, but as you said, along with that victory, was a significant defeat.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BASH (voice-over): Behind the smiles and hugs was this reality -- the man Nancy Pelosi backed to be her number two, John Murtha, lost his bid for majority leader to Steny Hoyer. And he lost big. REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), HOUSE SPEAKER-ELECT: Steny came out a big winner today. It was a stunning victory for him. We've had our debates, we've had our disagreements in that room and now, that is over. As I said to my colleagues, let the -- as we say in church, let there be peace on earth and let it begin with us. Let the healing begin.

BASH: Pelosi's controversial decision to support Murtha's ill- fated bid for majority leader, fractured her new majority caucus, but even as she preached unity, she made a point of praising Murtha.

PELOSI: I want to acknowledge the magnificent contribution of Mr. Murtha to this debate on the war in Iraq.

BASH: Pelosi also supported Murtha at a personal friendship approximate he's been a loyal confidant for decades. Hoyer has been Pelosi's deputy four years and her rival. In the end, Hoyer's feverish campaigning and fund raising for colleagues won him the most votes.

REP. STENY HOYER (D-MD), MAJORITY LEADER-ELECT: In my opinion, it was not that somebody was rejected today. It was that a team that had been successful was asked to continue to do that job.

BASH: Now, even before she takes the gavel, Pelosi is facing questions about whether she made a major strategic blunder. Not only did she take the unusual step of jumping into a race for her deputy, some Democratic sources say Pelosi and Murtha lobbied colleagues hard, even suggesting they'd get plum committee assignments to get votes.

REP. ALLEN BOYD (D), FLORIDA: I think the caucus, Dana is fractured now, not because of the race, but because of Speaker-elect Pelosi's heavy involvement in the race.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: Now, Pelosi aides say that the way they see it is that the signal she sent to all 237 Democrats who voted in today's elections is that she is somebody who holds loyalty very dear, that if you stick with her, she'll stick with you.

But the bottom line is, Wolf, after all of these votes, everybody was talking about the idea of unity, moving forward, moving beyond the tense and intense debate that went on behind closed doors behind me, but the big question is whether or not this is a signal of how Democrats are going to act in terms of not just their personnel decisions, but also in terms of their major legislative agenda and the big goals that they have in front of them.

BLITZER: Can all these Democrats now in the House get out of town and get ready for Thanksgiving week?

BASH: I think that that's definitely their plan to do. I think we can smell the jet fumes from here. The Democrats were already, of course, exhausted from the campaign. They're getting out of here now and, of course, tomorrow the Republicans are going to have their leadership fight.

BLITZER: All right, Dana, thank you. Dana Bash on the Hill.

And coming up, I'll be speaking with the big winner today, the incoming House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer who will join us right here in THE SITUATION ROOM later this hour.

Nancy Pelosi will be the Speaker of the entire House of Representatives. Not just the leader of the Democrats. That's because the official vote for House Speaker will happen in January when the new Congress convenes. Democrats will vote for Pelosi and Republicans will likely vote for their leader but since Democrats will control the House, their majority status wins them the pick who is going to be the Speaker of the House.

As Dana just mentioned is there a battle brewing among House Republicans who are about to become the minority party. Current House Majority Leader John Boehner is fighting to stay on as House Republican leader. The Congressman from Ohio is being challenged by Representative Mike Pence from Indiana. Pence appears to be the favorite among conservatives. Republican Representative Joe Barton of Texas was in the running but he dropped out and now he is backing Boehner. House Republicans vote behind closed doors -- secret ballot tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Republican Whip Roy Blunt is running to keep his position as the number two Republican in the House. Blunt is being challenged by Congressman John Shadegg of Arizona.

From a current Republican fight to a future GOP bout. Senator John McCain of Arizona is exploring a White House run for 2008. Today he is courting conservatives, giving speeches before two key groups. Our senior political correspondent Candy Crowley is joining us with details now -- Candy.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, as you know, this is the day that John McCain filed papers for an exploratory presidential committee, but the fact is that the words he's going to speak today to these two conservative groups shows he's doing a lot more than exploring. He was first at, as you mentioned, the Federalist Group and that is a group of conservatives and libertarians that look at the sort of the legal arena.

As you may know, John McCain has problems with conservatives because he joined that gang of 14 that sought to stop Republicans from getting rid of the filibuster and sort of ease the path towards some of the judicial nominations that the president was sending up. Conservatives didn't like that very much. They wanted a fight. So he came to explain that to the Federalist Society, but he also came to talk about the future of the Republican Party which he says is very optimistic but he was quite critical of the recent past.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: We were elected to reduce the size of government and enlarge the sphere of free and private enterprise. We increased the size of government and the false hope that we could bribe the public into keeping us in office. And the people punished us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CROWLEY: Again, McCain said he is quite optimism of the future of the Republican Party, if it goes back to its original principles. From the Federalist Society to GOPAC. This is a conservative group that has launched more than one presidential campaign and it is quite political group and we expect take hear a little more about how McCain thinks the party should go in the future and, clearly, Wolf, he hopes that future featured him very prominently.

BLITZER: I'm getting some e-mail from viewers because last week we were reporting, quoting a spokesman for John McCain as saying he wanted to spend the Christmas holiday speaking with his wife and his family about deciding whether to run for the White House. Now apparently at least he's exploring that. Is there a contradiction here?

CROWLEY: Well, it is a bit of a game. I mean, everyone has thought for the past year and a half to two years that John McCain was going to run for president. He has put all the pieces in place to do that. But the exploratory committee is a mechanism through which candidates who are thinking about running for the presidency can begin to raise money, sort of see what kind of resonance they have out there. They can begin to put their staff together, begin to look at whether there are problems in Iowa or New Hampshire or South Carolina and to do so through the prism of '06, I might add.

Much of this is outside the realm of the Federal election law, so they can do this while they kind of explore the idea, but for people like McCain and others who have so strongly signaled that they're going to run, this is really just a mechanism about fundraising.

Everyone fully expects that come January, he'll make the official announcement and, by the way, they kind of get two hits from us. They file for an exploratory committee and we give it lots of attention and then in January, when a lot of these candidates are going to announce officially, we go back at it again. It's a good mechanism for fundraising and also for a little name recognition.

BLITZER: Candy thanks for that. Candy Crowley and Dana Bash, as you know, they are all part of the best political team on television.

So where does McCain stand on the issues that matter to you? He supports President Bush's plan for Iraq, but he's called for more U.S. troops to be sent there to help suppress the insurgency.

On immigration, McCain supports the president's plan that calls for border security and a guest worker program for illegal immigrants.

The senator opposes abortion rights, except in the case of rape, incest or to protect the life of the mother.

McCain believes marriage should be defined as between a man and a woman, but he opposes a Constitutional amendment to ban same sex marriage. He also believes that individual states should make those decisions, but says he would support a federal marriage amendment if the courts interfered and overturned a state's decision.

On Social Security, the senator supports the president's call for privatization using individual savings account.

McCain also supports the president's call for the extension of tax cuts.

McCain is not the only person to take the first step toward a presidential run. Earlier this week, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani also formed an exploratory committee.

Yesterday, the former Wisconsin governor, that is, former Bush administration cabinet secretary Tommy Thompson announced that he intends to create a similar committee early next year.

And last month, the outgoing House Armed Services Committee Duncan Hunter announced he was taking the first steps toward a possible White House run as well.

On the other side, Tom Vilsack so far is the only presidential hopeful to file formal papers on the Democratic side. The outgoing Iowa governor is expected to kick off his White House run later this month.

He hasn't made it official, by the way, but incoming Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joe Biden has said here in THE SITUATION ROOM and on many other newscasts that he intends to throw his hat into the ring. The senator from Delaware ran unsuccessfully for the White House once before. That was back in 1988.

Stay tuned, and expect a lot more people to jump in the presidential hunt over the next few weeks and months.

And, remember, for the latest political news at any time, check out the Political Ticker at CNN.com/ticker.

Jack Cafferty is standing by with "The Cafferty File."

I get dizzy just running through all those president wannabes, Jack.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: It would be a shorter list if you read the people who aren't running or thinking about running I think.

It's been a little more than a week since the Democrats won both the House and the Senate. It just seems longer. There are already signs of cracks in the Democratic Party, though. The majority of the Democratic caucus ignored Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi's push for Congressman John Murtha to be the next House majority leader. Representative Steny Hoyer won that closed door secret ballot. Count was 149-86.

It's a blow to Pelosi, whose relationship with Hoyer has been described as strained at best. Leading up to the vote, some members of Congress complained of the Pelosi's camp's strong-arm tactics to try to get Murtha the job. Some even said she unnecessarily put her reputation on the line.

The 110 Congress doesn't even convene for two more months and already the Democrats are fighting among themselves. I love it. The question is this: Are the Democrats starting off on the right foot? E-mail your thoughts to CaffertyFile@CNN.com or go to CNN.com/CaffertyFile -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Jack, thanks for that.

And if you want a sneak preview, by the way, of Jack's questions plus an early read on the day's political news and what's ahead here in THE SITUATION ROOM, you can sign up for our daily e-mail alert. Just go to CNN.com/SituationRoom.

Coming up, deadly weather in the Southeast, but where is it heading next? Our forecast just moments away.

Plus, fear factor 2008. Which presidential hopeful scare the Democrats? Which Democratic contenders frighten the Republicans? Later.

We will also get -- will some little noticed results from last week's election have a major impact on the next one? We're going to tell you what's going on. Stick around. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: CNN's Fredricka Whitfield joining us from the CNN Center with a quick look at some other important stories making news.

Hi, Fred.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello to you, Wolf.

Up to 2,200 more Marines are being deployed to Iraq's volatile Anbar province to help with security there. U.S. Central Command officials tell CNN the Marines have been offshore on ships in the Persian Gulf region and will be moved to Iraq. The head of Central Command, General John Abizaid, ordered the move.

And the death toll of U.S. forces in Iraq since the start of the war now stands at 2,863. Three U.S. soldiers with Task Force Lightning were killed in action yesterday in Diyala province. Another U.S. soldier was killed in Baghdad on Tuesday. We'll have much more on U.S. troops in Iraq in a live report from the Pentagon in the next hour.

Another deadly day in Baghdad. Thirteen people were killed in various attacks there this morning. In one of the incidents, gunmen stormed a bakery, killing nine people. Also, a bomb planted inside a taxi by a passenger exploded outside the taxi driver's home injuring three people. And at least 70 to 80 people remain missing from Tuesday's mass kidnapping at a research institute in Baghdad. That's what an aide to Iraq's higher education minister is telling CNN. He says of the 70 who have been released some were tortured. The kidnappings were carried out by dozens of gunmen wearing Iraqi national police uniforms.

And here in the U.S., devastation in the southeastern part of North Carolina. A tornado ripped through a mobile home park, killing at least seven people. Some of them are children. The twister hit the town of Riegelwood this morning. Twenty other people were injured. The governor of North Carolina says at least four people are still unaccounted for. He has dispatched emergency crews to the area.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. MIKE EASLEY (D), NORTH CAROLINA: Damage assessment teams will not go out until in the morning. They will report back to me after they're deployed. After I get their report and that information, I'll decide at that point whether to ask for federal disaster declaration or just do a state disaster declaration.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The tornado knocked out power to more than 13,000 homes as well -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Fred, thank you for that.

Let's get more on this story of the tornadoes that are now out of the south, but where is the storm system right now? Our meteorologist Reynolds Wolf is joining us from the CNN Weather Center.

What do we know, Reynolds?

(WEATHER REPORT)

BLITZER: Let's move back now to our top stories. When it comes to who might run for the White House, is there more to fear than fear itself? Apparently some Republicans and Democrats think so.

Here to explain, our senior political analyst, Bill Schneider -- Bill.

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Wolf, we always ask who Republicans and Democrats would like to see as their candidate in 2008. Today, we're going to ask a different question.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCHNEIDER (voice-over): Who are Republicans and Democrats most afraid of? We know Republicans don't like Hillary Clinton. They hold a four to one negative opinion of the New York senator, even though she's made a serious effort to reach out to Republicans.

SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: You know, we can come together and try to solve a real problem for America.

SCHNEIDER: Republicans reassure themselves Senator Clinton can't be elected president. Can she?

Polls show her highly competitive, especially if the voters are as eager for change in 2008 as they were this year.

The candidate Republicans fear is Barack Obama.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), ILLINOIS: That is true genius of America, a faith and simple dreams, an insistence on small miracles.

SCHNEIDER: Obama doesn't have Senator Clinton's political baggage. Republicans have a neutral view of the Illinois senator. A candidate people don't know too much about? Uh-oh.

The Republican Democrats fear is Rudy Giuliani. They like him. They really like him, by nearly two to one. Democrats reassure themselves the Republicans would never nominate Giuliani. Would they?

RUDY GIULIANI, FMR. MAYOR OF NEW YORK: I'm in favor of gun control. I'm pro-choice.

SCHNEIDER: But that was seven years ago.

Here's another Republican Democrats like. Since 2000, John McCain has shown an ability to appeal to voters across party lines. But many Democrats say, wait till voters hear what McCain has been saying about the war in Iraq.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) ARIZONA: I would say, roughly, you need another 20,000 troops in Iraq.

SCHNEIDER: Which candidate should each party fear?

Maybe Democrats should fear Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. He's telegenic and he has a big issue: healthcare.

GOV. MITT ROMNEY (R), MASSACHUSETTS: Get Republicans and Democrats, conservatives and liberals all to come together and say you know what? Getting everyone health insurance is so important.

SCHNEIDER: Maybe Republicans should fear John Edwards. His economic populism proved very popular with voters this year.

JOHN EDWARDS, FMR. NORTH CAROLINA SENATOR: We need to get this economy back in line with our values. The things you and I grew up believing in: hard work, responsibility, integrity, fairness. These are things that George Bush just does not understand.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCHNEIDER (on camera): Since 1960, three Democrats have been elected president, all southerners: LBJ, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton -- Wolf. BLITZER: John Edwards is going to be here in the SITUATION ROOM, Bill, in the next hour. We're going to be speaking to him live. It looks like he's really going through the motions right now, visiting Iowa and New Hampshire, talking to a lot of people. I suspect he's actually very interested in this.

SCHNEIDER: I think he is. Remember, he got out of the Senate after just one term. He was John Kerry's running mate in 2004, and now he can position himself as a Washington outsider.

BLITZER: We will ask him what he intends to do. That's coming up.

Bill, thanks very much. Good report.

Up next, much more on the race for the White House and which candidates have the early edge. Paul Begala and J.C. Watts, they're standing by to weigh in.

Plus, intraparty battle. Is the fight among House Democrats over? And how badly is Nancy Pelosi damaged politically? Find out in today's "Strategy Session."

That's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back to the SITUATION ROOM. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington.

Today in our "Strategy Session," some are saying the D stands for defiance as Democrats pick Nancy Pelosi to be Speaker, yet deny her choice of John Murtha to serve by her side.

Here to talk about that and more, including Republican Senator John McCain's presidential exploration, our two CNN political analysts. Paul Begala is a Democratic strategist. J.C. Watts is a former Republican Congressman from the state of Oklahoma.

Thanks, guys, for coming in.

How badly is Nancy Pelosi damaged? Right at the start, she went full force behind John Murtha, and John Murtha got set back, defeated pretty soundly today.

PAUL BEGALA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: He did, and it's a bigger defeat for Nancy Pelosi than for Jack Murtha. Mr. Murtha remains one of the most respected people in the Democratic Party, one of the voices that most of us look to for leadership on the war. He'll still have a very important seat in the House Appropriations Committee, too, so shed not a tear for Jack Murtha.

But Ms. Pelosi takes it on the chin here. And the question is, as Abraham Lincoln said, is this a stumble or a fall? My guess it's just a stumble. She'll have to prove, though, that she can lead with a team, one of whom has been a real rival of hers. But, you know, she's been doing this. Steny Hoyer has been her number two for the last several years and they've gotten along reasonably well.

BLITZER: You served in the House leadership when you a Republican Congressman. How awkward is it to have a Speaker with one clearly perspective, and then the Majority Leader, who is opposed by that Speaker?

J.C. WATTS (R), FMR. U.S. CONGRESSMAN: Well, I experienced this situation with Newt Gingrich, who was wanting Bob Walker as his Majority Whip, and Tom DeLay got elected. And, of course, they got along pretty well in terms of , until, you know, Tom saw an opening and kind of toppled the Speaker. And that fell apart and it created some friction.

I think this is a small stumble, because I think the Democrats understand that if they allow this to become a problem in terms of governing, you know, it sets them back tremendously over the next couple of years. So I think, hopefully, my advice to them would be they'll have these petty fights behind closed doors, but, hey, get over this. The election is over. Put a good face on it and move forward.

BLITZER: And she -- Nancy Pelosi today was very gracious to Steny Hoyer. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PELOSI: Steny came out a big winner today. It was a stunning victory for him. We've had our debates, we've had our disagreements in that room and, now, that is over.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: That's a very nice thing for her to say, but do you think she really believes that?

BEGALA: Yes. She's a very practical politician. And someone who was in that room, actually, a source of mine who I called today, said the turning point in the room was when Henry Waxman from her own state of California -- he's now going to be a committee chairman, a very liberal Democrat -- stood up and said, you know, we won with the team of Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer and Rahm Emanuel -- and Jim Clyburn, who's now going to be the Whip. Why don't we keep the team that got us elected.

And for a senior Democrat from Speaker Pelosi's home state to say that, I think swayed a lot of people. But I think -- I think J.C.'s right, she'll get over this fine. She'll get over this fine.

WATTS: And Steny, Wolf, proved today what any politician should understand: your strength is with the voters. And he had his colleagues who he had to depend on. He got 149 votes of those colleagues that voted for him. That's where your strength is.

BLITZER: But, from a Republican perspective, is this a formidable Democratic leadership? WATTS: Well, I think Republicans probably would have liked to have had John Murtha, because of all the things that the Republicans have tried to do to him over the last several months.

BLITZER: You mean the baggage?

WATTS: The baggage and all those things.

And there were some Democrats out there talking about those things, as well, that it's somewhat hypocritical to say -- talk about changing the culture, changing things, and then Jack Murtha.

But, you know, hey, these guys are seasoned, tough, savvy politicians. I do hope, for Nancy's sake, that she can get a chance to start off on a good foot, in terms of governing. And I think she will.

BLITZER: All right, let's talk presidential politics for a moment.

Today, John McCain not only files the formal paperwork to create this exploratory committee -- Rudy Giuliani having done so earlier in the week -- but he is also reaching out to the conservative base of the Republican Party.

What do you make of this?

BEGALA: I love it. It's version 3.0 of John McCain.

He came to Washington in the '80s as a Barry Goldwater-Ronald Reagan. Then he got up in the Keating Five scandal. So, then he remade himself. He became version 2.0, a reformer, McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform, a maverick. He supported abortion rights. He supported gay rights.

Now it's version 3.0. The same guy who, a couple of years ago, was attacking Jerry Falwell is now getting along quite well with Falwell. The same guy who used to say he was for abortion rights now support the South Dakota abortion law, that would outlaw it even in the case of rape and incest.

BLITZER: Which was defeated.

BEGALA: He even -- get this -- he even now says they should teach intelligent design in schools, as an alternative to the theory of evolution.

I have never seen a politician evolve more than John McCain. He's proof that evolution exists. This is at least the third iteration we have had of him.

BLITZER: J.C.

WATTS: Well, you are talking about John McCain as a candidate. The ultimate makeover has been the Democrat Party.

BEGALA: Well...

(CROSSTALK)

(LAUGHTER)

BEGALA: ... trying.

(LAUGHTER)

WATTS: But, nevertheless, John McCain, I didn't know the one and two of John McCain.

I have served with John. I served with him for eight years. I think John is going to be very appealing to many, many people, including many Democrats. I think he still has that maverick streak about him, which is good. I think he is willing to tell the party what they need to hear, not what they want to hear, especially in times like this.

I personally believe that John McCain is good, not just for the Republican Party, but for the country for such a time as this.

BLITZER: All right, we will continue to watch. Guys, thanks very much.

BEGALA: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: And Paul Begala and J.C. Watts are all part of the best political team on television.

And, remember, for the latest political news at any time, check out our Political Ticker at CNN.com/ticker.

Up next: Some local elections from coast to coast didn't get a lot of national notice, but they could have a major impact on the next race for the White House. Jeff Greenfield is standing by to explain.

Plus: It's been nine days since the election, but some contests are far from over. We're going to give you the latest count for control of the House.

Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Just days after the midterm elections, some are now asking what Democratic gains really mean.

Our senior analyst, Jeff Greenfield, is in New York with more -- Jeff.

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SENIOR ANALYST: Wolf, the Democrats' capture of both houses of the Congress was, of course, the big election news. But that has left another important story under- covered. What happened at the state level? The results at the grassroots, in fact, hold real significance for the political future. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GREENFIELD (voice-over): Democrats picked up governorships in six states, Massachusetts, New York, Maryland, Arkansas, Ohio, and Colorado. They did not lose a governorship anywhere.

And, among the 50 state legislatures, Democrats won more than 320 seats, and took full control of 10 legislatures.

Here is what this means. Before Election Day, Republicans controlled 20 legislatures, Democrats 19, and 10 were split. Nebraska has a nonpartisan one-chamber system. Now Democrats control 24, Republicans 16, and nine are split.

The most obvious significance is that the states draw district lines for the U.S. House of Representatives. After Republicans won full control of the state legislature in 2002, they redrew lines to give the GOP five more House seats.

And, if we look at where the Democrats gained, the meaning of these results deepens. At root, Democrats gained just about everywhere, except the South, including regions that we think of as solidly Republican.

In New Hampshire, the last Republican holdout in New England, Democrats not only won both U.S. House seats, but took both houses of the state legislature. Iowa and Minnesota have gone Democratic. And New Mexico and Colorado legislatures remain Democratic.

And even where they did not win control, Democrats made gains, in Missouri, Arizona, Kansas, Idaho, and Ohio. The significance is that most of these gains have come in states that have been an indispensable part of the Republican bloc in election years.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's great to be back in the great state of New Mexico.

GREENFIELD: In two elections, for instance, President Bush lost only one state, New Mexico, barely in 2000, in all of the Great Plains and interior West.

So, if people there have begun to be more comfortable in choosing Democrats at the grassroots, it suggests that the playing field may be expanding, or at least that the several dozen electoral votes the GOP has more or less taken for granted may be in play in 2008.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GREENFIELD: These results could affect the early maneuvering for Democratic presidential hopefuls. A candidate with a more centrist message, say, an Evan Bayh or a Tom Vilsack, could well point to these results and ask: See what might happen if you turn to someone like me, instead of, say, a senator from -- oh, I don't know -- New York -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Jeff, thank you -- Jeff Greenfield reporting. In today's "Political Radar": the latest count in the battle for the House of Representatives. Nine days after the election, we now have a winner in Georgia's 12th Congressional District, where the incumbent Democrat hung on after a recount.

That brings the current count to 232 for the Democrats, 196 for the Republicans. This is a gain of 29 seats for the Democrats. Seven races, though, are still undecided.

We're going to keep counting, keep updating you every single day, until all the contests are called.

And, remember, for the latest political news at any time, check out the CNN Political Ticker at CNN.com/ticker.

Coming up: It's a multibillion-dollar plan to help protect our nation's borders. The government will let some people sitting at home keep watch of what's happening on the borders. But will it actually work?

And President Bush spends his first full day in Asia. He stopped in Singapore, before heading off to a summit in Vietnam. We're going to have details for you.

Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: The price tag for the Department of Homeland Security's proposed high-tech border surveillance plan could be anywhere from $8 billion to $30 billion -- that according to the department's inspector general, who is now warning, the border plan suffers from a lack of clear objectives and oversight.

Meanwhile, a test case for the border surveillance plan is already under way in Texas.

Let's bring in our Internet reporter, Abbi Tatton -- Abbi.

ABBI TATTON, CNN INTERNET REPORTER: Wolf, this is a kind of online neighborhood watch, where anyone can be a virtual Border Patrol agent.

Launched by Texas Governor Rick Perry this summer, people at home can monitor these cameras, like the one I'm looking at right now, in real time, cameras placed on private property and trained on the Texas border. The governor's office says that it's trained on criminal hot spots and common routes used to enter the country.

If you see something suspicious when you're looking at this site, there's a button to report the suspicious activity. With one click, your e-mail will be relayed to local law enforcement officials. It even tells you exactly what to look for, depending on the camera. This one overlooks a hill where individuals might be moving around at night. And that is the time to click and report it. Now, we have been looking at this site for the last couple of weeks, since it's been launched, just to see how it's going. And it's been hard to get on some of these cameras.

And, when we have got on them, and we have seen very little activity at all, suspicious or otherwise, but that might be because there's only 11 cameras at the site so far. When the program was announced in June, they had said that there would be hundreds of cameras, at an ultimate cost of about $5 million.

Now, a spokeswoman for the governor says today that the program is still at its very early stages. They have only spent about $100,000 so far, and they're still planning to have around 100 cameras. They do say that they have had a quarter-of-a-million people, or more, register to view the cameras so far. And reports of suspicious activity have been coming in.

Now, the whole initiative has raised some criticisms from civil rights group -- the Texas branch of the ACLU saying that this is Big Brother, and warning that this could increase the fear in border communities -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Thank you for that, Abbi.

Up next, the next majority leader of the House of Representatives, Congressman Steny Hoyer, will be right here, in THE SITUATION ROOM, to talk about his major win today and his work ahead for the Democratic Party.

Also in THE SITUATION ROOM: John Edwards. I will talk with the former Democratic vice presidential candidate about his prospects for becoming a presidential candidate. That's coming up in the next hour.

Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back.

My next guest is likely glad one race is all over, yet, his new work on behalf of the Democratic Party only just beginning.

That would be Democratic Congressman Steny Hoyer of Maryland. He beat out his fellow Democrat John Murtha in a landslide -- I wouldn't say a landslide, but decisively -- to become the next House majority leader.

Congressman Hoyer joining us now from Capitol Hill.

Congratulations.

REP. STENY HOYER (D-MD), MAJORITY LEADER-ELECT: Thank you, Wolf, very much.

BLITZER: How would you describe your win today? HOYER: Well, I think it was, the caucus spoke with a strong voice -- let me say that -- that they thought the leadership that I'm providing, and the team of Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer together, creating the kind of unity we had in our caucus, is one they wanted to keep, now that we have won the majority.

We promised the American people we would take the country in a new direction and bring change. In order for us to do that, we're going to have to be united.

And I think that is really what the caucus' vote...

BLITZER: But...

HOYER: ... was about.

BLITZER: ... how awkward is that Nancy Pelosi supported John Murtha, your opponent, to become the majority leader?

HOYER: Well, that was yesterday. And I don't mean that facetiously.

I mean, Nancy and I are committed to the same objectives. And, if we're going to be successful in accomplishing those objectives, we need -- we not only need to work together. Very frankly, we want to work together. We want to be successful.

I said to the caucus after the election I wanted to work as their majority leader to make Nancy Pelosi the most successful speaker in the history of the House, not only the first woman speaker, but the most successful.

And I sincerely meant that, because that's what we promised the American people. They want to see us working together.

BLITZER: It's...

HOYER: And we will put this behind us.

BLITZER: It's a huge win for you, as Nancy Pelosi points out, but it's also her first loss as the incoming House speaker.

And that must make -- must have made it tense in that closed-door room when the secret balloting was going on.

HOYER: Well, it's always anxious in that room, when the closed balloting is going on.

Frankly, I have been in -- as you know, in a number of leadership elections. I have lost one to Nancy Pelosi, lost one prior to that.

So, I understand that tension. We were pretty confident today, because, in talking to the members of the caucus, they thought that the leadership I had provided and the work that I had done with Nancy Pelosi was work they wanted continued. And we're going to move on very quickly. I know that sounds surprising to some people, but I have great respect for Nancy. Nancy and I have known each other for over 40 years. We worked together for a U.S. senator from Maryland in our early 20s. We have known her family. I have known her father. And her brother is a good friend of mine.

So, we're going to work closely together.

BLITZER: She's originally from Baltimore. You're from Maryland as...

HOYER: Yes.

BLITZER: ... as well.

What about John Murtha? You know, he's -- in the -- in the last few days, he suggested that he was being -- quote -- "swift-boated," because of the Abscam tapes from 1980 coming back during this moment, as he was running for majority leader.

And there was some suggestion -- at least I guess some of his supporters saying, well, where are these -- where is all of this rumoring, with swift-boating, if you will, coming from?

What do you say about that bitterness he apparently feels?

HOYER: Well, I hope that we would put that behind him, as well.

I indicated today that I thought Jack Murtha was going to continue to be a very significant leader in our caucus. He's going to be chairman of the Defense Appropriations Committee. Obviously, he's going to play a huge role in Iraq, in our policy in Iraq, in our dealings with the administration on we transition from a policy that we believe is failed, to one that will transition the United States'...

BLITZER: Are you and...

HOYER: ... responsibility out of Iraq.

BLITZER: Are you and Congressman Murtha on the same page, basically, when it comes to Iraq? Because he's been outspoken, as you well know, calling for, in effect, a timetable to redeploy U.S. troops over the horizon, if you will, to get them out of Iraq.

HOYER: Yes, I have not signed on to a timetable, have not projected a timetable.

But Jack Murtha and I, as well as Nancy Pelosi and the other leaders of the House and Senate, signed three letters to the president in July, September, and October, urging a change of policy, urging a policy that would effect a transition of our troops out of Iraq in the foreseeable future, and not the long-term future, consistent, obviously, with the safety of our troops and the stability of Iraq. We're going to have to work that out. But I think that the Democratic Party can be and will be on the same page. We will create a consensus.

And we will try to work with the president. We're certainly going to look to the Baker-Hamilton report to see what they have to say, and see what effect that has on the president, and see whether we can come to some agreement.

BLITZER: One final question, very quickly, because we're almost out of time, Congressman.

James Carville, here in THE SITUATION ROOM, yesterday, very bitter, very angry at Howard Dean, the chairman of the DNC. He says, if they would have used the money that they had, you might have been able to have another 10 seats, another Democrats, in the House of Representatives.

You want to react to that?

HOYER: Sure.

There's not a time for bitterness.

(LAUGHTER)

HOYER: Nancy Pelosi said today -- we were talking about where we were going to meet.

We have a small meeting room in the Capitol, HC-9. And then she caught herself, and she said, "By the way, we can meet in any room we want to."

So, there is no time for bitterness. We have won a victory. But we have also won a responsibility. We have been given a responsibility by the American people to move this country forward, to move it in a new direction, to solve our problems. And that's what we're going to do.

BLITZER: Congratulations once again, Congressman.

HOYER: Thank you very much, Wolf.

BLITZER: Good of you to come into THE SITUATION ROOM. And...

HOYER: You bet.

BLITZER: And, coming up, Jack Cafferty wants to know if D stands for division. Democrats snubbed their leader, Nancy Pelosi, over her pick for a top House post. So, do you think the party is starting off on the right or wrong foot? Jack Cafferty with your e-mail, that's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Let's check back with Jack Cafferty for "The Cafferty File" -- Jack.

CAFFERTY: Wolf, in light of the Hoyer-Murtha-Pelosi dustup, the question is: Are the Democrats starting off on the right foot?

Pat in Deckerville, Michigan, writes: "I'm afraid not. Murtha lost out. That's a shame. I was hoping there was more spunk in this party after this election. Maybe they aren't as keen on women and their opinions as we all thought."

Tony in Ohio: "What the House Democrats just did, in debating who would be the majority leader, was a healthy process, unlike the Republicans, who have been led around by the ring in their nose by Bush, Cheney and Hastert. I think you're blowing the Hoyer-Murtha election out of proportion. And I don't believe it will be damaging to Nancy Pelosi."

Christopher wrote: "Yes, the Democrats are starting off on the wrong foot, but it's the right foot for America. Voters elected Democrats into power, dividing power between Republicans and Democrats. Having seen how one-party rule corrupted our political system, a little bit of intraparty head-banging doesn't seem like such a big thing anymore."

John in West Virginia: "No, sir. The Democrats have started off on the same foot that John Kerry shot just prior to the election. How in the world could Pelosi back the ethically challenged John Murtha for House majority leader? The culture of corruption in Congress will not be cleaned up by the Democrats or anyone else. Back to the same- old, same-old."

G.T., Columbia, Missouri: "I would give that a tentative yes. By voting independently of their speaker, the Democrats have demonstrated that, unlike the GOP, they will not function simply as an echo chamber for their leadership."

And Milo writes from Crandon, Wisconsin: "The Democrats are acting just as one would have expected. Remember what Will Rogers said: 'I don't belong to any organized political party. I'm a Democrat.'" -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Jack, thank you.

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