Beware Republican 'viper' Darrell Issa
Republicans are so confident of victory, at least in the House, that they are already talking publicly about what they will do.
Some want to focus on the big economic issues and force through their fiscally conservative agenda.
But others just want to bring the Obama administration to book, to damage them by tangling them up with legal inquiries.
So you'll be hearing a lot more about California Congressman Darrell Issa, the senior Republican on the House oversight committee, which investigates shady doings. Mr Issa is poised to become chairman of the committee if, as expected, Republicans take control of the House.
He is determined to .
Mr Issa made his money selling car alarms (he says he went into the business because his brother was a car thief) and was the deep threatening voice behind the Viper car alarms TV ad in the 1980s. . And be afraid.
It's not just senior members of Mr Obama's team who should be scared of getting bitten.
The congressman says Mr Obama is .
Some conservatives despair. They are worried that this will become the running story of the next two years, and feel it is exactly the sort of stuff that turns the public off politics when they want to focus on policy. But it is likely to be another torment for Democrats if the polls are right.
I’m Mark Mardell, the Ö÷²¥´óÐã's North America editor. These are my reflections on American politics, some thoughts on being a Brit living in the USA, and who knows what else? My 
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