Ten days after the 2008 election, it is still a possibility that the Democrats could gain three contested Senate seats and reach the magic number of 60, theoretically a filibuster proof total, with of course the assumption that Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut will be accommodated and that all Democrats will always be loyal to the party at crucial times, which is certainly not guaranteed.
The Minnesota Senate race, with a lead of 206 for Republican Norm Coleman over Democrat Al Franken is about to go into manual recount and there is likely a good chance that Franken might be able to pull it out. The Alaska Senate race now shows Democrat Mark Begich, Mayor of Anchorage, ahead by about 800 votes with many more votes not yet counted, over Republican Senator Ted Stevens, who if re-elected is likely be expelled from the Senate due to his felony conviction on seven counts shortly before Election Day. The Georgia Senate race with Republican Saxby Chambliss over Democrat Jim Martin is moving toward a runoff due to the failure of either to get a majority of the vote, required by Georgia law, and that will be the most difficult for the Democrats to win, but memories of Chambliss’s abuse of Senator Max Cleland, a triple amputee, during the 2002 Senate matchup, makes one wish that somehow, Martin is able to emerge victorious.Â
Even without some or all three of those Senate seats, it is likely that many times we will see moderate Republicans such as the two Maine senators, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter and Indiana Senator Richard Lugar, a good friend of President-Elect Obama on foreign policy matters, willing to join the Democratic majority on many issues, so as to avoid a filibuster.Â
With the Democrats having a substantial margin in the Senate and some Republicans willing to cross the aisle at times, and this could include Senator John McCain at times as well, the Obama administration should be able to accomplish many of their goals.Â