Conservative Republicans and wary Democrats fear that Mr Bush might indeed try to steal the Democrats' clothes. "They talked about issues that people care about, and they won," he told the senators.

As a lame-duck president after years of poor relations with Democrats who were bitter about being frozen out of the decision-making process, turning opportunity into legislative reality will be one of the biggest challenges of Mr Bush's political career.

The message from the voters was that they rejected one-party rule in Washington and wanted to see whether divided government could lead to the kind of results Mr Bush was unable to achieve when Republicans were the kings of Capitol Hill.

Having been swept into power on the backs of their condemnation of a "do-nothing Congress", there will be pressure on Democrats to demonstrate that they can do business with Mr Bush. The president will want to leave office with achievements under his belt and use his power of veto sparingly.

"The Democrats should adopt a good government strategy rather than a take-no-prisoners strategy," said Senator Birch Bayh, a Democrat who served in the Senate for 18 years.

He believed that Republicans in Congress would adopt a new approach. "They've gotten the signal that people didn't like what was going on, that the well was poisoned. They're not going to be bomb throwers."

In 1996, President Bill Clinton and a Republican-controlled Senate and House of Representatives introduced a welfare reform Bill that became a landmark piece of social legislation. Both parties claimed credit for it. Republican presidents have also signed legislation sent to them by Democratic houses of Congress.

To the dismay of conservative Republicans, Mr Bush has already indicated that he agrees with the Democratic proposal to raise the minimum wage. But the centrepiece of his last 24 months in office could be a comprehensive overhaul of America's immigration laws.

His desire for tough border security measures combined with opportunities for many of America's 12 million illegal immigrants to become citizens is shared by more Democrats than Republicans on Capitol Hill.

Gardner Peckham, a senior aide to Newt Gingrich, speaker of the House after the Republican takeover of Capitol Hill in 1994, said: "Democrats will have to be very careful not to appear like they're looking backwards and wanting retribution.

"They won't want to look like they're the source of the problem. But they're not going to want the president to look good on any of these issues. The prize is the White House in 2008. Control of Congress is great, but without the White House you can't control the agenda."

Immigration, he suggested, would be "an interesting test" of whether genuine cooperation was possible.

The UN Security Council is expected to convene Saturday evening in a special meeting to vote on the resolution drafted by Qatar for the Palestinians to condemn Israel its errant shelling of Beit Hanoun in Gaza, which killed 19 Palestinian civilians. Even though the condemnation has been softened from its original version, the United States is still expected to exercise its veto power against it.

What wonderful news! The Republicans have lost their majorities in both the house of representatives and the senate. And, Rumsfeld has resigned. Bush is now a lame-duck president. Hallelujah!!!

This street in Beit Hanoun is very, very quiet indeed. It's just a matter of hours since a number of Israeli shells fell on houses in this area. We counted about eight impacts. The shells appear to have landed roughly in a straight line, starting in the fields at the end of the street and hitting houses on either side of it. A pen for livestock was struck by one of the explosions and the animals are lying dead on the ground. There are pools of bloodstained water outside one of the houses, which has had a hole blown through the roof and there are shrapnel marks everywhere from the explosion. A woman just walked past crying, being helped by some of her neighbours.

Most people are shocked and uncomprehending about what happened in their street during the night. A father of one child who was killed told me: "One missile I believe could have been a mistake, but the number of missiles that were fired, I can't believe that was a mistake." A resident who works in one of Gaza's hospitals says: "I have not seen injuries like this for a long time." "The shrapnel severed peoples hands and arms and they were left lying on the ground," Dr Ali said. He had been sleeping in his bedroom when the shells struck the next door building. The windows of his bedroom had been blasted out and there was glass on the ground. Dr Ali tells the same story as everyone I spoke to, that there had been no anti-Israeli attacks by Palestinian militants from this area, as the Israeli military claims, before the shells struck. "I did not get woken up by anything during the night. There was no sign of rocket fire during the night," Dr Ali said.

It seems clear that rockets have been fired from near this area in the past, but there appears to have been nothing on that night. Raed Ibrahim tells me that all the dead came from the same branch of the same family. "I am angry. I hate the US, I hate George W Bush, I hate of course Israel. I also hate the Arab states which do nothing to help and the international community," said Raed. But it was not anger in his eyes, it was more like an immense sadness that showed through. That mood was shared by most of the people we saw, many of them slumped tearfully against walls in the street.

Italy and France on Monday urged Iraq not to execute Saddam Hussein, saying it would be ethically wrong and would risk pushing the country towards civil war. "In the dramatic, difficult situation in Iraq, the execution of Saddam Hussein could push the country towards a real civil war," Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema told reporters after meeting French counterpart Philippe Douste-Blazy in Paris. "This is the reason for the appeal we are sending to the Iraqi authorities -- to the democratic authorities of Iraq, which we respect and support -- that the sentence should not be carried out," he said. "So for purely ethical reasons, Saddam Hussein should not suffer the death penalty," he said. "But above all, you also have to think that the situation in Iraq is excessively worrying and we are on the brink of civil war."Douste-Blazy said France and the European Union were opposed to the death penalty and wanted to see it abolished worldwide.

In London, Prime Minister Tony Blair said Britain opposed the death penalty. But he repeatedly declined to say directly whether he thought Saddam should be executed, saying it was a matter for Iraqis to decide. His carefully-worded comments reflect the balance between upholding Britain's long-standing opposition to capital punishment while not being seen to criticise the U.S.-backed Iraqi court that sentenced Saddam. "We are against the death penalty, whether it is Saddam or anybody else," Blair told a news conference.

Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi, speaking to reporters during a visit to London, said: "Italy is against the death penalty so even in such a dramatic case as Saddam Hussein, we still think the death penalty must not be put into action."

Finland, which holds the rotating EU presidency, said on Sunday the bloc was opposed to the death penalty and did not believe Saddam should be executed.

In NAJAF, the Shi'ite holy city south of Baghdad:
"Saddam is sentenced to death! Die, you Baathists!": crowds chanting after the verdict was reported on television.

In RAMADI, capital of the restive Sunni province of Anbar in western Iraq:
"We were not surprised about the death sentence against President Saddam. The sentence was given for the benefit of Bush in the election.": Ahmed Hussain al-Dulaimi, 25, college student.

In MOSUL, a mixed city north of Baghdad: -- "They have sentenced Saddam to death for the killings that happened when he was a president. Who is going to sentence the leaders now for the everyday killings that are happening in the country?" -- Bahjat, 30, a Sunni Arab who declined to give his last name.