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That's , the House Democratic leader, who's about to become the first female speaker in the history of the US Congress. What's she saying? Our majority is this big -- no, this big!

There's a feeling abroad, in some circles at least, that the Democrat's in the mid-terms last night will have a massive impact in terms of American foreign policy. I heard one stretegist last night saying that these mid-terms will decide whether George Bush's presidency will be a six year term rather than an eight year term. We'll see. As all fans of The West Wing will know, the House of Representatives has control of the federal budget and the president can't pay for his policies unless he persuades the House to put up the money. He could also now face legislative gridlock if he proposes laws the House is opposed to. We wait to see how the Senate race will turn out; but similar legislative problems face the president in the new Senate. We may also see new congressional investigations into corruption and presidential mismanagement, now that the hand of the Congress has been strengthened. We could even see an investigation launched in the US while the UK's Labour government continues to argue that a parliamentary investigation would be inappropriate while British troops are still in harm's way.

But will the direction of the Bush administration's foreign policy change significantly as a result of this election? In recent weeks, even some of President Bush's leading neo-con supporters -- not least the über-hawk -- have acknowledged that the invasion of iraq was a mistake. The administration itself seems to be focused now on a belated exit strategy, but that change in direction pre-dates this election. And the president's greatest powers -- nothwithstanding the complexion of any given Congress -- are his foreign powers. We live in interesting times.

One new arrival on the Hill worth noting: Keith Ellison, a Democrat just elected to the House in Minnesota, is the first Muslim to be elected to the US Congress. One departure worth noting: Sentator , a leading light of the religious right, and an outspoken culture warrior.