KICKIN' BACK IN THE BRIAR PATCH:

G.O.P. Gains From War Talk but Does Not Talk About It (ALISON MITCHELL and ADAM NAGOURNEY, September 21, 2002, NY Times)

Senior Republican Party officials say the prospect of at least two more weeks of Congressional debate on Iraq is allowing their party to run out the clock on the fall election, blocking Democrats as they try to seize on the faltering economy and other domestic concerns as campaign issues.

At the same time, Republicans said that as they entered the final six weeks of contests in which control of Congress is at stake, they did not want to be perceived as exploiting the talk of war for political gain. They said they were urging candidates not to do anything that might give Democrats ammunition to turn the war issue against them.

The emerging dynamic has produced growing if quiet optimism among Republicans that they will be able to turn back the Democratic drive to take control of the House, if only because Democrats are running out of time to make their case.

It's awfully hard to feel bad for the Dems on this one because it's a trap of their own making. It was they who demanded a debate on Iraq, little understanding that the war option remained popular with an angry nation and badly underestimating the power of a president to use the bully pulpit to whip up war fervor. This midterm offered them a huge opportunity but they now need really bad economic news in order to regain their lost momentum.
Posted by Orrin Judd at September 21, 2002 7:59 AM