We've got a problem in 2008, and it has nothing to do with the top of the ticket.
In 2006, there were three main issues that brought independent voters to Democratic candidates, and in turn brought Congressional Democrats to power:
Iraq, Congressional corruption , and Katrina.
Three solid, clear issues that attracted those results-oriented, possibly one-time independent voters and turned an election. So where are we on those results?
Let's just say that after all that's happened this month, I'm thinking Congressional Democrats won't be seeing many of those independent voters again...
Katrina and Iraq are already looking like lost opportunities.
Most of the funding to rebuild the Gulf Coast died with the Iraq supplemental; the money won't be coming back at anywhere near those levels in the new bill. And as everybody knows by now, neither will the timetable for Iraq.
That leaves only the corruption issue and the promises made during the great 2006 wave of revulsion that came in the wake of the Delay-Abramoff-Cunningham-Foley scandals. Here's where those stand:
The Democrats promised to clean up influence-peddling.
This week, Congress balked.
The Democrats promised to end the practice of anonymous earmarks.
This week, those reforms are on the verge of being gutted.
So unless things change, that's pretty much the record Democrats will be running on in '08.
Anybody care to place a few bets? I'll check back in a bit...