As President Clinton hailed the "astonishing result" for the Democrats of the mid-term elections, the Republican in charge of the impeachment inquiry said it would have "no impact" on it.
Mr Clinton refused to comment on the effect Democratic successes might have on impeachment.
"That's in the hands of Congress and the American people. That's a decision for them to make," he said yesterday. "The lesson all people should draw is that the people who were rewarded, were rewarded because they want to do something for the American people." He has called a conference for next month to consider how to save the social security system from going bankrupt early in the next century, one Democratic campaign theme which was well received by the voters.
The President was clearly delighted, however, with the performance of the Democrats who were widely expected to lose seats in accordance with the usual pattern of mid-term elections. Instead, the Republican majority in the House of Representatives was cut from 22 seats to 12. In the Senate the Republicans, who had hoped to reach 60 seats, stayed at 55 to the Democrats' 45.
Two of the President's most virulent Republican critics lost their Senate seats: Senator Al D'Amato in New York and Senator Lauch Faircloth in North Carolina. The Democrats also won the governorship of California after 16 years and two others in the staunchly Republican southern states of Alabama and South Carolina. A strong turnout by the African-American vote helped ensure successes in close races.
The exit polls were also encouraging for Mr Clinton, with almost 60 per cent approving of his job performance and saying they want Congress to drop the impeachment inquiry. One-third said he should be impeached and removed from office.
But Mr Henry Hyde, who chairs the Judiciary Committee conducting the impeachment inquiry, said yesterday the results would have no impact on its work. Its investigation resumes next week into the allegations in the Starr report that Mr Clinton committed perjury and obstructed justice arising out of his affair with Ms Monica Lewinsky.
With a majority in the House, the Republicans can still vote to impeach President Clinton and leave it to the Senate to decide on whether he should be tried on the impeachment charges. But there is little or no possibility that the Senate could muster the necessary two-thirds majority to find the President guilty of "high crimes and misdemeanours". Most observers expect a compromise before the end of the year whereby Mr Clinton accepts a motion of censure or a rebuke in Congress instead of an impeachment.
The failure of the Republicans to make the expected gains has embarrassed House Speaker Mr Newt Gingrich, who had earlier predicted up to 40 extra seats for the party. In his defence, he said that the Republicans had not kept control of both Houses for three elections in a row for 70 years.
Mr Gingrich is being blamed for the weaknesses in the Republican campaign which could not decide whether to raise the Lewinsky issue. With Mr Gingrich's blessing, TV ads were run in the last weeks which raised the affair, but critics say this helped to bring out a stronger Democratic vote.