I’m really trying to keep my spirits and yours up, but stuff like this ain’t helping:

President George W. Bush on Wednesday said increasing the national minimum wage is likely an issue on which he could cooperate with Democratic leaders in Congress.

“I believe in a lot of issues we can find common ground and there’s a significant difference between common ground and abandoning principles,” the president said in a news conference a day after mid-term elections in which Democrats gained control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Democrats gained about 30 seats in the House in Tuesday’s voting and picked up five of the six Republican Senate seats they need for a majority. They led in the other one, Virginia, putting them near control of both chambers of Congress for the first time in 12 years.

Hiking the minimum wage, which is now $5.15 per hour and has not been raised since September 1997, is a key initiative identified by Democrats. The president said he would be meeting with Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi, who is poised to be the next speaker of the House when the new Congress convenes in January.

More of what we’re in for, via AP’s summary of Democratic priorities for Congress:

_Military: Force an immediate drawdown of troops in Iraq and conduct oversight hearings on missteps on the war. The announcement Wednesday that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was resigning met Democratic demands that he step down to take responsibility for the situation in Iraq.

_Intelligence: Increase attention given to emerging terrorist threats in Africa and Southeast Asia and devote more resources to North Korea and Iran. More oversight of terrorism and government surveillance.

_Energy and environment: Increase incentives for biodiesel, ethanol and other alternative fuels as well as wind, solar, geothermal and other sources of alternative energy. Renegotiate oil and gas leases that waived royalty payments to the government. Impose a national cap on industrial carbon dioxide emissions. Resist Bush’s efforts to open more public lands to oil exploration.

_Judiciary: Conduct oversight hearings on treatment of terrorism detainees, domestic surveillance programs and President Bush’s use of “signing statements” affecting some requirements in the laws he signs.

And, of course, as I noted last night:

Illegal alien amnesty is on the way.

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