Bush hosts Democrats, welcomes ideas on Iraq

WASHINGTON: President George W Bush signaled a more conciliatory approach on Iraq on Thursday as he and leaders of the new Democratic majority in the US Congress pledged to work together but conceded they would have differences.   

Bush, whose Republican Party suffered humiliating defeats at the polls on Tuesday, had a White House lunch with Nancy Pelosi, the California Democrat who was clearly pleased at the prospect of becoming the first woman speaker of the House of Representatives.   

Bush called the talks, which included No. 2 House Democrat Steny Hoyer of Maryland and Vice President Dick Cheney, constructive and friendly. He said with the elections over, it was time to address America's challenges.   

"We won't agree on every issue. But we do agree that we love America equally, that we're concerned about the future of this country and that we will do our very best to address big problems," Bush said.   

Pelosi, who complained bitterly about Bush on the campaign trail, beamed as she sat in the place of honour next to the president beneath a portrait of George Washington in the Oval Office.   

"I look forward to working in a confidence-building way with the president recognizing that we have our differences and we will debate them, and that is what our founders intended, but we will do so in a way that gets results for the American people," she said.   

She pledged to represent everyone in the House. "I understand my responsibility: of speaker of the House, of all of the House, not just the Democrats."   

Bush sounded willing to accept ideas for a shift in course in Iraq during remarks he made after meeting with his Cabinet.  "I'm open to any idea or suggestion that will help us achieve our goals of defeating the terrorists and ensuring that Iraq's democratic government succeeds," Bush said.   

His chastened tone came a day after Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's resignation was announced. The nominee to replace him, former CIA Director Robert Gates, is expected to have a more open mind on solving the Iraq crisis.   

Democrats easily seized control of the House of Representatives on Tuesday, gaining about 30 seats. But wresting the Senate from Republicans took until the final votes were counted in the Virginia contest between Democrat James Webb and Republican George Allen.   

Webb, a former Navy secretary for Republican icon Ronald Reagan, was projected to have narrowly defeated Allen, who was expected to concede on Thursday.   

Webb's victory will give Democrats a 51-49 majority in the Senate, a margin so narrow that the White House is expected to try to form coalitions with more conservative Democrats to pass Bush-backed legislation.   

Democrats have made clear they will exert strong pressure on Bush for a course correction in Iraq amid rising US casualties and violence.   

Bush said the United States has a responsibility to give support to the more than 149,000 US troops in Iraq -- an indirect challenge to those Democrats who have talked about cutting off funding for the Iraq mission.   

"Whatever party you come from, we all have a responsibility to ensure that these troops have the resources and support they need to prevail," Bush said.   

While planning ahead to work with Democrats when they take over in January, Bush was scrambling to get the lame-duck session of Congress, which starts next week and will still be controlled by Republicans, to approve several items.   

At the top of the list is to try to get Gates confirmed quickly, as well as legislation to permit wiretapping of terrorism suspects, a civilian nuclear deal with India, and Vietnam's entry into the World Trade Organization.   

Confirmation hearings on Gates' nomination for defence secretary were tentatively set for the week of Dec. 4.