We won't be able to clean house. Even if a miracle occurs, and we get back both the House and Senate, and even if a greater miracle occurs, and we are able to hand over Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, et al. over to the Hague, we still won't be able to clean house.
A number of very smart people here have pointed out that it will take us decades to undo the damage that BushCo have done to this country. If we are not 100% efficient, we will take further decades. Even with complete control of the House and Senate, there are a number of administrative appointments that have already been made which reach deep into the bowels of all our governmental structures, from judges to corrupt appointees at all levels of the EPA, and so forth. The biggest broom we can wield is to fire ALL Bush appointees and their sub-appointees.
I want to propose a plan: that the new Democratic Congress CATEGORICALLY REFUSE to seat any BushCo nominee, for any position. In addition, where Congress has the requisite power, ALL Bush appointees, in any position, MUST be removed from government. The Republican cancer has metastized, and every cell must be removed.
If you agree with me, we need a list of every position we can cleanse... with a) the House b) the Senate c) Both. We don't have the power, I believe, to go after everything, which is why Bush must not be allowed to make any more changes to the Executive branch. If we win the Presidency in 2008, we will have much more power, but we must limit the damage as soon as possible.
The (so-called) humans trying to subvert our government will not take this lying down. They will do all that they can to insure that the cancer has hiding places... 'sleepers', in espionage terminology. We must tear them out, root and branch.
My starting list: No vacancies with Congressional oversight must be filled by a Bush appointee. Where possible, Congress must revoke the existing appointments of all Bush appointees.