Analysis: Congress to remain the same

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- Larger Democratic majorities in Congress starting next month are not expected to change the political nature of the House and Senate, observers say.

The Los Angeles Times reported Sunday that strengthened Democratic numbers on Capitol Hill do not guarantee President-elect Barack Obama will get everything he wants.

The newspaper noted that most politicians in Washington are driven by their desire for re-election.

One political observer said Obama is inheriting a political and economic legacy from President George W. Bush that could make it difficult to get effective policies approved by Congress.

"The real question is: Will Congress be Congress and slow things down ... and muck things up with too much local politics?" said Robert Reischauer, head of the Urban Institute and former director of the Congressional Budget Office.

On the economy, lawmakers have been "behind the curve," said Dean Baker, co-director of the Center on Economic and Policy Research. "But they have been better than Bush."

The question for Obama: Is it better or worse when Congress tries to fix the economy.

"Congress has not been anticipating crisis, but at least they have been reacting to it," said Sarah Binder, a political scientist at George Washington University. "But every time Congress acts, you can watch the

markets tumble."