since 1959, he is no longer a racist but is notorious for lavishing taxpayers cash on boondoggles named after himself. As he nears his 91st birthday, however, he is in poor health. He will be replaced by Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, a sprightly 84-year old. this turmoil is occurring at a difficult time. The world economy is having a seizure. Carmakers in Detroit are begging for a bail-out. The Democrats who control Congress would like to help President-elect Barack Obama tackle these crises. But he will not become president until January 20th. For now, George Bush is the only man who can sign (or veto) laws. And only the old Congress can pass them: the new one does not take office till January 6th. A short-term economic stimulus is needed before then, and is likely to pass. Mr Bush also wants Congress to ratify a free-trade deal with Colombia. It probably won t. the House of Representatives the Democrats have a comfortable majority, which will get even bigger next year. In the Senate they currently have only a 51-49 edge, including two independents, and next year s line-up is still unclear. The Democrats will have at least 57 seats, a hefty majority. But three seats are still undecided. Recounts of close races in Alaska and Minnesota could drag on for weeks, with allegations of cheating from both sides. And a run-off will be held in Georgia on December 2nd, as local rules require, after neither candidate won more than 50% of the vote. the Democrats win all three seats, which is unlikely but not impossible, they will be able to shut down Republican filibusters and ram through any law they like. Republican big beasts, including John McCain, are converging on Georgia to support Senator Saxby Chambliss in the run-off. A Democratic supermajority would mean: No checks. No balances. No stopping them, warns one website. , Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, the top Democrats in the House and Senate, are furiously juggling. Even as their members jostle for jobs in the new Congress, they still have a lame-duck legislature to run. They seem to have kept a lid on the in-fighting, at least for now, but several big jobs are yet to be filled. Joe Biden is moving to the White House, his plum spot as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is up for grabs. John Kerry, a former Democratic presidential nominee, says he wants it. But if Mr Obama makes him secretary of state or ambassador to the UN, the more leftish Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin would be in line. Another question-mark hangs over Senator Joe Lieberman, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee in 2000. This year he backed John McCain for the presidency. Many Democrats want to punish him, by stripping him of his chairmanship of the homeland security committee or even kicking him out of the Democratic caucus. But Mr Obama is said to want to let bygones be bygones. the House some personnel changes portend a leftward shift. Rahm Emanuel, a forceful centrist, is leaving his Chicago seat to become Mr Obama s chief of staff. His post as Democratic caucus chairman, the number-four job in the House, goes to John Larson of Connecticut, who is somewhat further to the left. And Henry Waxman of California is challenging John Dingell of Michigan for the chairmanship of the House committee that handles energy and climate change. bitter battle is brewing. Many ideological greens prefer Mr Waxman, who supports tougher curbs on carbon emissions and has a more belligerent approach to corporations. Many pragmatists prefer Mr Dingell, for the same reasons. A cap-and-trade bill will be much harder to pass now that the economy is in the doldrums, says a former Clinton White House staffer. Mr Dingell, who hails from Michigan, is trusted by the big carbon-emitting industries. Mr Waxman is not. So a deal next year may be more likely under Mr Dingell. immediately, congressional Democrats are urging Mr Bush to find as much as $ 50 billion to rescue the Big Three carmakers. Mr Dingell strongly supports this idea. So do most Democrats. If the government can bail out greedy bankers, they reason, surely it can help horny-handed workers keep their jobs. Plus, they see the cash infusion as an opportunity to insist on greener cars. Republicans are aghast. If the financial system had collapsed, it would have devastated the entire economy. That is not true of carmakers. If the Treasury props them up, every badly-run company in America will beat a path to its door. But a bail-out looks likely. And if Republicans in the Senate lose their power to filibuster, the Democrats will abolish workers right to a secret ballot before unionising. That, warn Republicans, will let unions do to other firms what they did to General Motors.The Times4, 2008must learn English to qualify for a British passportFordwho make little effort to integrate into society will wait longer before they can become British citizens under changes to citizenship rules...
