What to expect if the Democrats win Congress

At the counterpart Senate panel, the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, no similar veteran watchdog lies in wait. Ranking member Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., faces uncertain re-election prospects, and some Democrats have criticized him in the past for being insufficiently aggressive on oversight. Next in line would likely be 81-year-old Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, who has not played an active role on the committee and who faces a competitive September 23 primary. In any case, the Senate committee has a long bipartisan history under chairmen of both parties.

In the interview with NJ, Waxman downplayed his partisan image and emphasized that he would seek to work with Republicans. His Democratic allies, and even some Republicans who have worked with him, call him evenhanded. As chairman, Waxman "would be responsible, and he would not play games," said Rep. Tom Allen, D-Maine, a close ally. "Henry is a gentleman in how he treats other people. But he is a tough advocate in working to expose what needs to be exposed. It's not personal."

Waxman has had a relatively collaborative relationship with Chairman Davis. In the panel's investigation last year of steroid use by baseball players, for instance, the idea for the inquiry came from Phil Schiliro, Waxman's top aide, who has spent a quarter-century on Capitol Hill, nearly all of it with the California House member. "Phil is an avid baseball fan and was offended by the idea of Major League Baseball allowing the sport to be corrupted by the use of performance-enhancing drugs," Waxman recounted. "So we wrote a letter to Tom Davis, and he felt that it would be an interesting idea as well."

The politically savvy Davis, aware of the possibility that he could soon become the panel's ranking member, has been responsive to other requests by Waxman. "I have a very high regard for his intellect and energy," Davis said in the interview with NJ. "Our discussions are rational and honorable." Davis's top committee aide, Staff Director Dave Marin, added, "Mr. Waxman and his staff have shown that they're open to compromise. Although their instinct is acutely partisan, at the end of the day they're usually reasonable to deal with."

An interesting aspect of a Waxman chairmanship might be his relationship with Pelosi, who almost certainly would be speaker if Democrats control the House. Although the two Californians have usually had an amicable relationship, Waxman quietly differed with Pelosi's partisan boycott of a Davis-led investigation of the Bush administration's response to Hurricane Katrina. Waxman and other Government Reform Committee Democrats agreed not to participate in the inquiry. But a few Gulf Coast Democrats joined the hearings, and the panel's February report was widely praised as fair.

Pelosi rejects criticisms that she is a harsh partisan. In an interview this spring with NJ, she said she would seek bipartisanship in running the House. "This is a marketplace of ideas," she said. "Hopefully, it can be less partisan, but with appropriate debate."

The talk of future bipartisanship from Pelosi, Waxman, and other Democrats seems to reflect their sensitivity that an unsparing focus on past Bush policies could be politically counterproductive. They seem wary of overreaching, mindful that the Republicans' excesses in handling impeachment charges against President Clinton helped pave the way for the early demise of House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., in 1998.

Pelosi, for one, has distanced herself from earlier talk by likely House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., of Bush's own possible vulnerability to impeachment charges. Still, after congressional Democrats have spent the better part of 12 years in the minority, it would be hard to believe that some of them wouldn't be interested in at least a little political payback.

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