We didn't get to the goal line, says Gephardt as he quits

Dick Gephardt, the Democratic party leader in the House of Representatives, said yesterday he would be stepping down – the first scapegoat for his party's disastrous showing in the mid-term elections.

With recriminations already flying and under intense pressure to step aside to allow new leadership to come through, Mr Gephardt made it clear that he would not be seeking a sixth term in the job.

"We didn't get to the goal line," Mr Gephardt, 61, told the St Louis Dispatch, in his home state of Missouri. "We didn't score the touchdown. I'm sorry about that, but I'm proud of what I did, proud of what they did. Now I've talked with my family, and I've come to the conclusion that it's time for someone else to take a crack."

In the short term, Mr Gephardt's decision will make for a battle between the veteran Representatives Nancy Pelosi of California and Martin Frost of Texas to take control of the Democratic leadership in the House. But Mr Gephardt's decision also marks what is certain to be a round of fierce infighting within the party about its future direction and tactics after its loss of the Senate and slippage in the House.

"I think we are going to go straight from defeat to recriminations," the Democratic strategist Bill Carrick told The Washington Post.

So far there have been no challengers to Tom Daschle, the Democratic leader in the Senate. But it is far from clear whether Mr Daschle wants to carry on in the job.

"I've been in this job for a long time, but this is the worst night I have had," Mr Daschle said of Tuesday night.

"I can't think of anything we would have done differently. I wouldn't change anything. We had wonderful candidates, good resources. It just wasn't our night."

While still licking their wounds, Democrats also need to rapidly start thinking about the 2004 presidential election. Before these elections both Mr Gephardt and Mr Daschle were expected to announce their intention to run for the White House. Many observers now believe their chances have been badly damaged.

Mr Gephardt, who challenged for the party's nomination in 1988, and was on the verge of running a second time in 1998, was not due to make any immediate announcement on the issue.

With close ties to organised labour, Mr Gephardt served as his party's chief legislative strategist in the House, often struggling to hold a diverse group together on issues ranging from tax policy to international trade legislation. Many have questioned whether he has the charisma to win over the country.

With the Democrats in such disarray, talk has focused on who else could take the party forward.

One of those expected to make a presidential bid, the Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, said it was time for a new direction. "We Democrats must have the courage of our convictions," he said. "We must be ready to refuse the course of least resistance – confront the seemingly popular – and offer a vision that looks beyond the next poll to the next decade and the next generation."