AMBASSADOR Robert Holmes Tuttle

Speeches, Remarks & Events

09 November 2006
Ambassador Tuttle participated in a webchat on the significance and impact of the election results

USINFO Webchat transcript, November 9

U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom Robert Holmes Tuttle answered questions in a November 9 USINFO Webchat on the midterm elections in the United States.

Following is the transcript:

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Bureau of International Information Programs
USINFO Webchat Transcript

Ask the Ambassador: Discuss U.S. Midterm Election Results with Ambassador Robert Tuttle

Guest: Ambassador Robert Tuttle
Date: November 9, 2006
Time: 10:00 a.m. EST (1500 GMT)

IIP Moderator: Welcome to today's webchat with Ambassador Robert H. Tuttle. You may begin sending in your questions now or wait until the live event at 1500 GMT.

Thank you for your participation today.

The U.S. midterm elections are widely expected to be closely run at all levels. Pundits predict that control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate could change hands and the outlook for many state gubernatorial elections is equally uncertain. In a post-election webchat Robert H. Tuttle, the American Ambassador to London, will discuss the significance and impact of the November 7th results.

Click here to read Ambassador Tuttle's biography.

IIP Moderator: We would like to welcome U.S. Ambassador Robert Tuttle to this morning's discussion on the implications of the mid-term elections.

We will be getting started very shortly.

Question [Jaona]: Good morning Sir. My name is Mihanta, 18years old, Malagasy. I'm very interesting on this discussion because there is a presidential election in my country [Madagascar] on 3, December this year, I think you know that. My question is:

Who are the voters in the U.S. midterm election?

Answer [Ambassador Tuttle]: Dear Mihanta,

The voters are any U.S. citizen over the age of 18 who are registered to vote. Each state sets their own laws in terms of registration procedures for voting, absentee balloting and hours the polling stations will be open as well as what issues and candidates will appear on the ballot.

Q [J Simon Rofe]: I would be interested to hear whether the Ambassador considers the election to have been a referendum on George W. Bush as a president and his foreign policy or was it actually other (local) issues that determined the election.

Equally I would be interested to know whether the Ambassador considers this a 'protest' vote. Thank you for hosting this event, I look forward to it.

All the best,

Simon

A: Dear Simon,

I think there are three major issues that determined the outcome of the election. First, some voters were clearly unhappy with the situation in Iraq and registered a protest vote. Second, other issues that hurt the Republicans were the scandals involving members of the House of Representatives. Not only did the members who were involved in scandals lose their seats, but in some states voters cast a ballot against other Republicans in their anger over the scandals. Third, the Democrats did a very good job in urging individuals to run who were more moderate than more traditional Democratic candidates. Senator-Elect Casey in Pennsylvania is an outstanding example of this strategy.

Q [leba]: Did Sadam Hussein's trial influence the midterm election?

A: Dear Leba, In my opinion the trial of Saddam Hussein and resulting verdict had little or no effect on the outcome of the mid-term elections.

Q [andry]: Is a real and honest cohabitation between Democrats and Republicans possible?

A: Dear Andry, Since 1950 we have had more years during which the party in control of the Executive Branch (White House) did not control one or both of houses of the Legislative Branch (Congress) than years where the party in control of the White House controlled both houses of the Legislative branch. Therefore Americans are comfortable with what I would call divided government and the record shows that during those years of divided government some of our more productive pieces of legislation were passed by the Congress and signed by the President.

IIP Moderator: Acknowledging Republican Party losses in U.S. midterm elections, President Bush expressed confidence that he will be able to find common ground with the confirmed Democratic majority in the U.S. House of Representatives and the potential Democratic majority in the Senate on issues such as Iraq, immigration, education and the economy.

President Bush, responding to concerns expressed by American voters in November 7 midterm elections, has accepted the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and has nominated former CIA Director Robert M. Gates to replace him.

Rumsfeld has agreed to remain in charge of the Pentagon until the U.S. Senate confirms Gates, Bush said November 8.

Speaking to White House reporters, Bush said that Gates, a former career intelligence officer with 25 years of government service, is one of our nation's most accomplished public servants and is suited ideally to lead the Pentagon in wartime.

Q [andry]: Will the results of the midterm elections influence the US foreign policy? If yes, in which extent?

A: This is an answer to Simon, Andry, IRC Cairo and Mike Williams on the impact of the mid-term elections on U.S. foreign policy:

The President sets U.S. foreign policy and it is implemented by the Secretary of State. So, the direction of U.S. foreign policy will be the responsibility of President Bush until he leaves the White House in January 2009. However, all presidents, including President Bush have, and will continue to consult with Congress regarding the direction of U.S. foreign policy. The U.S. Congress is responsible for setting funding levels for the President's foreign policy initiatives and the budget of the U.S. State Department. In addition committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate can require members of the Executive Branch to appear before their committees to be questioned about U.S. foreign policy.

As President Bush said in his news conference last night, our objectives in Iraq have not changed but he and members of his Administration are constantly reviewing our tactical approaches to the situation in Iraq. One of the President's tactical changes was to replace the Secretary of Defense. As the President said "the timing is right for new leadership at the Pentagon."

You should all watch the report that will be published sometime before the first of the year by the Baker-Hamilton commission. This is a bipartisan commission made up of distinguished Americans that has been commissioned report and make recommendations on Iraq. I believe that in the spirit of bipartisanship this report will be looked at closely by the Administration and Congress.

Q [andry]: Which of the house of representatives and the senate is the most important in terms of political influence?

A: Dear Andry, for all proposed bills to become a law they must be approved by both the House of Representatives and the Senate and signed by the President.

Both the House and the Senate have unique powers/responsibilities. For example, only the House of Representatives can initiate a Bill requiring expenditure of U.S. Government funds and since their term of office is only two years they are more accountable to the voters.

The unique power of the Senate is the power to approve all high-level appointments by the President, for example, Cabinet members, federal court judges and Ambassadors. One additional power of the U.S. senate is to ratify treaties that have been negotiated by the President. Senators serve 6 year terms and represent entire states as opposed to Representatives who represent Districts within a state.

Q [leba]: Does the result mean that Democrats will take over the 2008 Presidential election?

A: Dear Leba, no, there have been many cases, most recently the mid-term election of 1994 where a political party did well in the mid-term election and saw their candidate lose the Presidential election in 2 years.

Q: I want to know details about the US Midterm Election Result.

A: There are several firsts as a result of this election: with the convening of the new Congress in January for the first time a women is slated to become Speaker of the House, the first Muslim member of Congress was elected and the first Buddhist member of Congress was elected.

The Democrats gained control of the House of Representatives by gaining 28 seats to bring their total to 230. A party needs 216 seats to control the House. In the U.S. Senate Democrats picked up 5 seats and will have at least 50 seats in the next congress. Currently one seat remains undecided and will require a re-count. If the Democrat wins that seat control of the U.S. Senate will pass to the Democrats. If the Republican wins that seat, control of the U.S. Senate will remain with the Republicans but it will probably be the end of November before we know that outcome.

Q [IRC Cairo]: Can the American education system promote the political participation?

A: The American education system can and does promote political participation both through required courses in Government and citizenship in our school systems and through opportunities to participate in student government organizations within the school systems as well as model Senate and model U.N. at the national level and as volunteers within political parties.

Q [IRC Antananarivo]: What would be the change expected about US policy towards Iraq, Afghanistan and the Israel-Palestinian crisis?

-Inspecteur d'Etat

A: Historically, there are no sudden changes of direction in U.S. foreign policy following U.S. elections. The President formulates foreign policy, Congress funds it and they must find common ground. While key players may change (in Congress, Department of Defense, etc) overall U.S. foreign policy objectives remain the same. This means that U.S. foreign policy will not undergo seismic, immediate change due to the election.

IIP Moderator: We'd like to thank Ambassador Tuttle for taking the time to speak with us.

Thanks again for participating today.

back to top ^