Included in the orientation for new members this week was a visit to the White House to meet Bush:
The welcome at the White House was “a little surreal, when you’ve been running against them for two years,” said Chris Murphy, a Democrat who beat Representative Nancy L. Johnson in Connecticut.Yes, and Donnelly beat both Bush and Chocola.
President Bush posed for pictures with all the new members and chatted about their races.
“He said, ‘You beat Chocola,’ ” said Joe Donnelly, a Democrat from Indiana, where the president had campaigned for Republicans, including Mr. Donnelly’s opponent, Representative Chris Chocola.
The president said he had spent a bit of time in South Bend, the heart of Mr. Chocola’s district, Mr. Donnelly said, and “I said, ‘Yes, I’m well aware of that.’ ”
