Attention, too, turned to Bush's meeting with the bipartisan Iraq Study Group at the White House.

Led by former Secretary of State James A. Baker III and former Democratic Rep. Lee Hamilton, the group expects by year's end to recommend a different course for peace and stability in Iraq.

Already, military commanders are re-evaluating strategy under the leadership of Gen. Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Bush also ousted Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld right after the election, after saying days earlier that would not happen.

"All these things are pushing toward one thing, and that is victory in Iraq," White House counselor Dan Bartlett said Sunday. "If there are good suggestions coming from either the Baker-Hamilton commission or elsewhere - members of Congress, both Republican and Democrat - we want to listen to them."

The tone of the conversation changed when Democrats won control of the House and Senate in Tuesday's elections.

Before Election Day, Bush said the Democrats' goal was to get out of Iraq, not win in Iraq, and that if Democrats swept to power, the terrorists would triumph and America lose.

A majority of voters - almost six in 10 - disapproved of the war, and they overwhelmingly voted for Democrats, according to exit polls conducted for The Associated Press. A solid majority of voters said the US should withdraw some or all of its troops from Iraq.

"You know, it's a big disappointment for us in the White House to have lost control of both Houses of Congress," Bolten said. "But sometimes in adversity, there's opportunity, and hopefully we can take advantage of this opportunity."

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