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GUEST: Norman Solomon, Syndicated columnist of “Media and Politics” and author of “War Made Easy”

The Democratic Party has won a majority number of seats in yesterday’s mid-term elections, after 12 years of Republican domination. Out of 435 seats, there are now 227 Democratic Congressional representatives. Among the notable victories are Keith Ellison, a Black Muslim American, who defeated Republican Alan Fine in Minneapolis to become the first Muslim in Congress.

In the Senate, Democrats won 20 seats and are leading in two races by narrow margins. These are Republican-held seats in Montana and Virginia. If the Democrats win these two races, they will have control of the Senate also. Among the notable races in the Senate, Harold Ford, who would have been the first Black American senator elected in the South since Reconstruction, conceded defeat to his opponent, Bob Corker. Ned Lamont, the Democratic nominee for Senate, was beaten by one-time Democratic Senator turned Independent Joe Lieberman. Three top Republicans lost seats including Mike DeWine of Ohio, Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, and Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island. Vermont voters elected Independent congressman Bernie Sanders, a self-professed “democratic socialist.”

President Bush has scheduled a news conference this afternoon to to discuss the election results. He is expected to “reaffirm his goals in Iraq and urge cooperation with Democrats.”