In the battle for Congress, the currents ran in the other direction, and Republicans lost ground. Many House Republicans stole their opponents' scripts and waged campaigns that promised to improve education and health care. As a result, Democrats made little headway in picking up the six seats they needed to regain control of the House. As of Nov. 8, the net gain was two, with two slots undecided. The shocker was the Senate, where Hillary Rodham Clinton led a cadre of Democrats that managed to gain at least three seats, a showing that puts the party within a heartbeat of control.
All roads lead to the center.
Given the split verdicts, neither party can claim a sweeping mandate. Although either a victorious Bush or Gore would put up a brave show, insisting that a win is a win, reality is far different. In the view of many veteran business lobbyists, that means the new President may have to concentrate more on the bully pulpit to create a sense of national unity than on the traditional 100 Days sprint to put legislative points on the board. Prudential Securities Inc. Although caution and gridlock are dirty words in some quarters, that's not necessarily the case on Wall Street. Already, some money mavens are viewing the current stalemate in cautiously upbeat terms.