We need to deliver some bread and butter domestic legislation that Americans can seek their teeth into ahead of the elections.

I know that I am in the minority when I say that the war and the investigations, while important, shouldn't be all the Democrats are known for ahead of the elections.  We need a domestic focus.

True, but I think people know that the best way to get it is with a Democratic trifecta that includes a President willing to sign the bills.

What I find more ominious is the trend and its length. 6 months, and at no point does the gap even come close to closing-there's something pretty fixed right there. And what are the odds Republicans can do anything to close it? People are so tired of the war that even if a miracle breakthrough were to occur, it would only accelerate the desire to end it. Bush can't offer any new programs, and hasn't really had any desire to offer anything that benefits people, so no hope there. And once we officially begin 2008, the time frame to get anything done beyond a holding pattern is very short because of campaigning. So the Republicans are out of options for turning around.

Swift boating? Nice try. Gore/Hillary/Obama/Edwards are all familiar faces, and we've already heard the stuff, so nothing really shocks anymore. Besides with the blogs, if there were anything really scandalous now, it would have been unearthed by now. They might try scorched earth-except for one thing: none of their candidates seem to be catching fire with even their own electorate, let alone swing voters. You can't really see any of them as Presidential at all.

have the 06' number handy to compare these with?

I think this is a powerful counterpoint to the Republicans' neverending appeal to Congressional approval ratings.

People continue to express a clear preference to have Democrats in charge of the country.  There's no other way to take this.

Republicans limited their losses to 30 seats by an adroit use of gerrymander and pretty good election day tactics.  They should have lost 45 to 50 seats.  Problem is, they left an awful lot of close seats on the table.

Fact:  Democrats got more overall House votes in 2006 in ten states carried by Bush in 2004.  That's Aekansas, Colorado, Nwvada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Tennesse, and West Virginia (Republicans won the House vote in two Kerry states: Delaware and Wisconsin with Wisconsin being due to an unopposed Republican in WI-6).

Fact:  Republicans did not reach 70% in a single House district in the Northeast;  Democrats had 42 70% or higher congressional districts in the region.  Sixteen Northeastern Republicans got under 60% and many would be ripe for the plucking in a higher turnout general election.

Fact:  Democrats carried only 7 of 18 Ohio districts despite winning the "statewide" House vote by over 200,000 votes.  One of the survivors, Deb Pryce, announced her retirement.  Another died.  Ralph Regula is assumed to be retiring.  Steve Chabot and Jean Schmidt are vulnerable as hell.  I can make similar cases for Michigan and Illinois.

Fact:  The Republican scandal machine continues to churn overtime to present a fresh scandal every week or two,  Scandal seats are particularly prone to turnover.

Fact:  Republican voters remain unenthusiastic about their Presidential choices.

Fact:  Republicans not only continue to stick with a failed President but they continue to stick with (and use somewhat "dirty tactics" to defend)mise3rably unpopular policies.  I so wanted them to veto or fillibuster the increase in the minimum wage.

The number of Republican retirements is not only running ahead of last cycle but above the average for the last 48 years.

Too bad they we don't live in a "generic" world.

It all depends on who the Democrats nominate.

True, but nobody Dem looks that bad. Maybe Gravel might be a problem, but he's going nowhere. Everybody else is a familiar face: people already pretty know what they are getting. Negative impressions are already being made or not due to the extra early campaigning, so little chance of drastic change there.

Moneywise, as we've seen, the Republican Party is struggling with the prospect of having to spend money on races that would otherwise have been easy: try outspending Mark Warner in Virginia. What about a potentially bloody primary in Utah? Pete Domenici may well face Richardson, if Richardson doesn't get any traction before January and decides the Senate is a consolation prize. Landrieu looks like the only real pickup for them. There are problems in Kentucky with Mitch McConnell and the governors race. And the Dems are consistently outraising the entire Republican field even before the primaries begin.