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Both Cantor and Hensarling are more conservative than the lawmakers they're seeking to replace, leading some Republicans to grumble that the party was moving to the right when it should be reaching toward the center if it is to regain its majority. House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio said he would seek to keep his post. Leon Panetta, a former House Democrat and White House chief of staff for Clinton, said Obama "has to make an effort at bipartisan cooperation, which means that he has to reach out to the Republicans and see whether or not they're willing to cooperate on some issues," like education and immigration. He added that Obama will need to develop coalitions on issues that divide Democrats. Shake-ups also are possible in the Senate, where Democrats have increased their effective majority to at least 56 seats in the 100-member chamber. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, one of two independents who align with Democrats, is threatened with the loss of his chairmanship of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee as payback for actively supporting the presidential bid of Republican Sen. John McCain. Reid, the majority leader, said he would meet with Lieberman later in the week to discuss the matter. "Now that the election is over, it is time to put partisan considerations aside and come together as a nation to solve the difficult challenges we face and make our blessed land stronger and safer," Lieberman said in a written statement. He had harshly criticized Obama in a speech at the GOP nominating convention in September. Then there's the game of musical chairs in the Senate that has to be played because of the departures of Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden to the White House. Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat, will appoint someone to fill out the remaining two years of Obama's term. Speculation has focused on Chicago Reps. Jesse Jackson Jr. and Danny Davis, along with Rep. Jan Schakowsky. Biden's departure opens up not only his seat -- he won a seventh term Tuesday
-- but also the prestigious chairmanship of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Delaware's departing Democratic governor, Ruth Ann Minner, likely will name a successor to serve until the end of next year, when a special election will be held to fill the remaining four years. Speculation surrounds Lt. Gov. John Carney and Biden's son Beau, who is Delaware's first-term attorney general. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., could be in line to fill the Foreign Relations post, depending on whether Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., decides to stay on as chairman of the Senate Banking Committee to deal with the financial meltdown. Democrats have added at least five seats in the Senate, to bring their numbers to 56
-- for now. But three GOP-held seats -- in Oregon, Alaska and Minnesota -- have yet to be decided. A fourth still-disputed Senate seat now held by a Republican incumbent will be settled by a Dec. 2 runoff in Georgia.
[Associated
Press;
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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