The Independent on the "cost of the Democrats' failure"

Independent Argument But the Republicans' victories, sweet as they may be for them, are no cause for wider celebration. Suddenly all sorts of measures that could have been blocked in Congress can be pursued by the White House. As well as his tax cuts for the wealthy, Mr Bush can hope to see his conservative slate of judges for the Supreme Court approved and legislation to allow drilling for oil in Alaska's wildlife refuge. He might try to relax business regulation, although in the light of Enron and other scandals that remains problematic. And his so-called Homeland Security programme will continue to assault the civil liberties of American citizens.

Most dangerous of all, however, is what these elections mean for Mr Bush's foreign policy. This can be overstated, because few Democrats would in any case oppose the President at a time of war. But these results will undoubtedly embolden Mr Bush as he pushes the United Nations towards backing his plans for a war on Iraq. The incalculable damage that such a conflict would do to peace throughout the world, rather than the tally of governorships and Congressional seats, represents the true scale, and the real price, of the Democrats' failure.