Big switcheroo: The Texas House started the '09 legislative session bathed in bipartisan sweetness, while the Senate, whose members usually trumpet working together, splintered over Republicans' steamrolling of Democrats.

"We're erasing the (partisan) lines on this side," a lobbyist cracked while pointing toward the House, "and drawing them on that side," waving at the Senate.

The tide of ebullience in the House reflected an end to Rep. Tom Craddick of Midland's six-year run as speaker and the emergence of GOP Rep. Joe Straus of San Antonio as his successor.

Straus, elected speaker about a week after he cobbled together his winning coalition, sounded a unity theme without a clunker, though he dropped a line from the prepared text of his opening speech about expecting his friendship with Craddick to continue.

Four of six House members nominating Straus for speaker were Democrats, a reminder that the House has a record narrow split at 76 Republicans and 74 Democrats.

Notably, none of the members tapped by Straus to celebrate him in floor speeches were key players in rancorous fights over Craddick's leadership in the 2007 session.

Where Straus forecast clear skies ahead, the Senate opened with a storm reminiscent of the 2004 war culminating in Republicans redrawing congressional districts not long after federal judges had done so.

The fresh twist: Most Republicans, who hold 19 of 31 Senate seats (down from 20 last session), passed a rule change that would allow voter ID legislation to be taken up with 16 votes. That's a bust-the-Democrats change from the Senate's tradition of requiring 21 votes for floor action.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, the Senate's presiding officer, insisted he was steering clear of the senators' fight.

That's hard to believe.

Why? Achieving a voter identification mandate is seen as a must-have for Dewhurst to please Republican voters in the 2010 elections. He'd arguably lose face if Democrats — who see photo ID mandates as tools to reduce turnout — again employ an internal rule to jam the Senate's majority.

Back in the House, Straus wasn't entirely peace and light. The day before he took over, several Craddick policy experts were told their jobs were gone. Straus didn't personally fire them, but he could have kept them.

Of course, few would dispute Straus' right to choose his own team. Yet he'd said earlier he didn't want to frighten Craddick's advisers, "who have families to take care of. So I want to be very careful and cautious about how we move ahead."

Overall, Straus set a hopeful course.

For laptop-toting reporters on opening day, it was as if he'd invented the Internet.

The Capitol's Web signal suffused the chamber, a development rooted in Straus looking into why the House didn't provide the Web signal available in other parts of the Capitol. Nobody knew.

How hard was the change? A staff member entered the chamber, plugged in a line, flipped a switch.

Memo to Straus: Not all desires will be fulfilled so easily.