Interesting contrast - over at NRO and elsewhere they are openly predicting the GOP will probably lose control of the Senate in '06.

You predicted Bush by 58% in o4.

The Democratic underground morons predicted "Kerry in a landslide". I think the repubs will lose a small number of seats but keep control of the senate, then pick seats back up again in 08 with iraq off the table and a new shiny republican president to vote for.

55-56% (58 would have been Reaganesque and you could get that following the 70s, not the 90s), but yes, the war cost him about 3%-5%. It was foolish and counterproductive to leave troops there this long.

NOw, now, according to Charles Schwab:

Traders ignored a modest pullback in the price of crude as stocks finished little changed on what was a fairly quiet day....

Just a modest pullback, nothing to see here, move along.

The Republicans will add negative eight seats in the House this November, which will allow them to retain control.

Not that they'll do anything great with that continued majority...

Posted by: Michael Herdegen at March 21, 2006 12:06 AM

I am convinced that the price of gasoline has become the single largest determinant of Presidential elections.

Just as the prices of bread and salt used to topple regimes.

The drilling companies, and their related suppliers out here are still in a "lease, don't buy" state of mind when it comes to remote drilling operations in sections of Texas and New Mexico that have not been heavily drilled in past years. That means the rigs are still as busy as possible and the companies are signing up ever healthy boody to work on the rigs, but they aren't sure the prices are going to remain high long enough to justify adding permanent offices and yards in new areas, as opposed to either renting temporary space and/or operating out of the central locations they contracted to when the prices were down in the $15-$20 range.

Just saw at NRO Corner them qouting a "senior GOP strategist" who claims the GOP will lose the House and will lose 4-5 Senate seats, declaring PA. MT, OH, RI, and probably MO definitely gone. This strategist doesn't see any pickup opportunities for the GOP. I may be too optimistic but this guy seems to be way off.

AWW - NRO has been way off for a couple of years. Kristol is every obnoxious know-it-all smart aleck kid you've ever had to tolerate from kindergarten upwards rolled into one smarmy little squirt. There may still be some people who merit reading, but every time I click over there, something annoys me, so I've stopped going altogether.