A decidedly unpopular Bush and his equally unpopular war in Iraq were too much for too many incumbent Republicans to overcome, particularly since they also were saddled with a skimpy list of legislative accomplishments and were on the defensive on immigration, corruption and spending.

Even with control of the Senate still up for grabs early this morning, this was a very good election for Democrats, decisively bringing to an end 12 years of Republican rule in the House. But it never quite matched the Republican political tidal wave of 1994.

The impending Democratic takeover of the House carries both good and bad news for California. The state loses the chairmanships of four major committees – Appropriations, Ways and Means, Rules, and Armed Services, whose chairman now is Duncan Hunter of Alpine.

But, for the first time in history, California gains the speakership in San Francisco's Nancy Pelosi. And it gains the chairmanships of the Government Reform, House Administration, International Relations, Education, and Veterans Affairs committees. San Diegan Bob Filner will be chairman of Veterans Affairs.

That Democrats had a good night in the sixth year of a Republican presidency is hardly surprising from a historic standpoint. But only a year ago the smart money was on Republicans to counter history and hold their losses to a minimum. “Experts” talked of the computer-driven drawing of district lines so artful that challengers had little chance; of a fearsome GOP organizational advantage in targeting and turning out friendly voters; and of Republicans' traditional edge in money.

There was truth in all of that. But gerrymanders, political machinery and fundraising are no match for voters who are angry, anxious and yearning for change. And that is the portrait of the American electorate yesterday.

Some of that anger was directed at an unpopular president who emerges from this election as “the lamest of lame ducks,” according to Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, a senior scholar at the University of Southern California.

“This is a major embarrassment. It is a repudiation of his policies; it is a repudiation of his leadership style,” she said. “And it is a definite vote for changes in his Iraq war policies.”

However, Republican pollster Frank Luntz said the discontent is about more than just the president.

“There is an anxious mood in America,” said Luntz. “It has become deep and the public mindset has soured and they're looking to have that weight lifted from their shoulders. That's what this election is about, I believe – to get that weight off people's shoulders so they can breathe easy and be optimistic again.”

Luntz was an architect of the strategy in 1994 that captured the House for the GOP and he cited “working-class voters” as a key both then and now. “They are the ones who gave it to the Republicans in 1994. It looks like they have gone back to the Democrats in 2006,” he said.

In the end, he said, all the current political issues – the war, immigration, corruption, Bush – came together and voters “decided that the fear of change was less a driver than fear of the status quo. . . . They feel that things aren't working and they'd rather give somebody else a chance to do a better job.”

That anxiety was nowhere more evident than in Virginia, that reddest of red states, which has not strayed from the Republican fold in the 10 presidential elections since 1964. What was supposed to be a cakewalk for Republican incumbent Sen. George Allen turned into a cliffhanger with Democrat Jim Webb that likely will result in a recount.

One of the most interesting aspects of the election is how many of the newly elected Democratic representatives are moderate to conservative. Most of the freshmen are decidedly more conservative than the leadership who will be giving them orders.

Both Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco and most of the incoming committee chairmen are old-school liberals. They mostly came of age at a time of George McGovern and Hubert Humphrey. But the freshmen are much more Bill Clinton Democrats who will come to Washington looking for centrist ways to get things done.

But with eyes cast already toward tough re-election battles in two years, they will never be automatic votes for the Democratic agenda if the old bulls shape it as too liberal.