Washington ? Reveling in their indisputable hold on Congress, Democrats on Thursday cautiously embraced their Republican foes while conceding they now share the burden of governing.

“Our joy today will vanish if we can’t produce for the American people,” said Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, the chairman of the Senate Democratic campaign committee.

At a raucous rally Thursday afternoon outside the Capitol, Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada echoed the sentiment: “It’s time for results.”

But even as Democrats reached out to President Bush and the GOP, they also cautioned them not to test the limits of their good will. They expressed hope for Bush’s stalled immigration bill but urged him to pick judicial nominees with care, and suggested he back off from pressing for quick action on a contentious secret surveillance bill.

“My message to the president would be: Send us moderate judicial candidates,” said Sen. Richard Durbin of Illinois, the second-ranking Democrat in the Senate. “Don’t send us extreme candidates, because I think the president will run into trouble if he does.”

For Senate Democrats, it was a day to exult in their new majority. With control of the House already assured, Democrats sealed their Senate majority Thursday when Republican Sen. George Allen of Virginia conceded his race, clearing the way for Democrat Jim Webb to claim his seat.

Two days after an Election Day rout of the GOP, Democrats and Republicans eyed each other carefully, arguing for bipartisanship even as they pressed their respective agendas.

Democrat Jim Webb arrives to announce his victory in Virginia's pivotal Senate race, giving the Democrats majorities in the House and Senate for the first time in 12 years. He spoke Thursday at Courthouse Plaza in Arlington, Va. A 60-year-old Naval Academy graduate, novelist and decorated Vietnam veteran who served as Navy secretary under former President Reagan, Webb opposed the war in Iraq and switched to the Democratic Party. At bottom right is his wife, Hong Le Webb.

Bush urged Congress to take advantage of a short lame-duck session this month to act on two contentious matters left over from before the election: legislation that would give the administration the ability to conduct surveillance on terrorism suspects without obtaining warrants and the confirmation of John Bolton as U.N. ambassador.

Durbin shrugged off the request.

“For a Republican Congress to have gone forward for two years and produced so little, and then for the president to come up with a huge agenda for the next two weeks, you have to ask him, ‘Why didn’t you use some of the time you spent arguing on some less important issues before?”‘ Durbin said.

In reaching out to Republicans, Democrats pointedly noted that Republicans had not shown them the same consideration.

“They’ve set a bad example in not working with us,” Reid said. “We’re not following that example.”

Beside raising the minimum wage, they want to act quickly on legislation to enact recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, reduce dependence on foreign oil, expand stem cell research and reduce the price of drugs offered through Medicare. All those pose potential legislative challenges, but none more than the Democrats’ pledge to seek a new direction in the war in Iraq.