My view is that it "pouting" more than that pundits. I try to keep them pouting, and I try to point out many of the same things, but they appear to be pouting 'big time.'

BTW, this is based upon more than just the radio show. You can tune in NOW at www.wkrs.com.

PS - OJ, I'll stop promoting if you wish. Apologies in advance if you delete the post.

Really, any outcome of this election is going to benefit the GOP. If the Dems take huge majorities in Congress, they're going to try something stupid like impeaching the President. That little trick almost screwed the Republicans over in the 2000 election. In that election, the GOP wisely picked someone who had nothing whatsoever to do with the impeachment and Al Gore foolishly ran as far away as he could from President Clinton. The Democrats have almost nothing to impeach this President on (no perjury, for example) but they're going to try their darndest and will only wind up shooting themselves - and their 2008 election aspirations - in the foot.
But, as Orrin says, predicting modern elections is a fool's game so this could have any result you care to come up with.

Republicans are coming home, the pouting is over. Especially with John Kerry making everyone in America appreciate that Bush is our President. I was telling my baby sister who just voted (in Florida) for the very first time, that Republicans always come home in the final week. We're purists, nitpickers, and most unsatisfied in the year before an election, but come to our senses in the final week. See Neal Boortz (a Libertarian, he said he no longer wanted to see the Republicans lose; the Kerry flap woke something up in him).

Emma:
Good point. To the Pouting Thomases I always say, "Are you that mad at President Bush that you seriously want to have Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi?" That gives 'em a shock.

The unemployment rate in the media is headed one way - relentlessly up. The LAT and NYT will probably have 15-20% fewer employees in a year or two, and CBS may no longer own a new division.

It's the end of the world for these folks.

The rest of America is working just fine. Even my friends in the airlines have seen improvements (although the union employees aren't making what they made before).

Unfortunately a Republican landslide is not in the cards. I predict loss of ~23 House seats and 5 senate seats. From what I can tell, races that should not be close show the Dems gaining. The pundits are the only thing we have to balance the media bias and they are in a snit. Plus, Iraq is definitely a drain and the Dems have done a better job recruiting candidates.

This is very simple, people do not want to be involved in a war where it appears the Commander-in-Chief does not know how to win. Bush staked his credibility as a war leader on a quick win in Iraq, and it has not turned out that way. Although the initial drive was a great success, he clearly failed at diplomacy and botched the occupation. Even assuming that things work out for the best, big mistakes were made and much of this could have been avoided.

Only two things have prevented a rout: 1) casualties, although persistent, are low and 2) the Democrats lack a national leader perceived to be strong on defense who can clearly do better.

At some point people feel the need to hold elected officials accountable. Punishing the GOP at the polls is a way to let the politicians know that the people now regret the leeway they originally gave Bush to run the war he saw fit.

That's not a surpise.

Chris: I think most voters (in the GOP) realize the setbacks in Iraq are in one little corner of the country. As a whole the north and south are fairly quiet, functioning areas.

JAB: Dems gain in the House ~15 seats (probably less), but lose 1 in the Senate. That's how I see it, given the earlier caveat that the elections are near impossible to determine.

It's important to throw the bastards out from time to time. I think people understand the new bastards can't do any harm for the next couple of years.

JAB - Too pessimistic. Best estimate right now is the GOP loses about 10 in the House. Senate I think it will be -2 as losses in RI, PA, and OH are offset by the MD pickup. So the GOP maintains control in both.

As Emma notes GOPers are coming home. Anecdotal evidence is pointing to good GOP turnout for a midterm election. Remember the poll numbers are based on estimated turnout by party - a few % increase in the GOP turnout percent and the polls would be much more favorable to the GOP.

Curt - "can't do any harm for the next few years"

Impeachment procedings against Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld. Cut off funding for Iraq so Iraq falls apart. Opposition to action against NK, Syria, Iran. No action to fix social security. No action to extend the tax cuts so they expire.

I'm not willing to take that chance.

What AWW said.

aww --

While impeachment proceedings might be entertaining, it won't happen -- the numbers aren't there and most of these guys will want to get reelected.

Iraq -- there is no Dem. plan, they'll defer to the Pres. (for better or worse), and the last thing they'd do is "cut off funding."

The Pres. would initiate any action on N.K, Iran etc., but it aint in the cards.

Congress has sat on S.S. fix and tax extension for years -- what's new about that? No action is needed for years. And a Dem. Congress can't spend our $$ any faster than this one does.

I can't think of a less consequential recent election.

Curt: your analysis is facile, but false. I just hope we'll never be in a position to see you have to eat your words.

Conyers can't wait to start investigations. The MSM will carry his water, and together they will reluctantly conclude that BUSH LIED, PEOPLE DIED! The drumbeat for impeachment on those grounds will drag along a "reluctant" Pelosi (because after all, even though she said it was "off the table" she's entitled to consider new "facts", isn't she?), and public opinion, bombarded with this drivel, will shift enough to make it a reality. And his little pal Cheney, too. Remind me again...whom does that make President?

On Iraq, they will use their positions as committee chairs to obstruct, second-guess, and hamstring the military to the point where the Iraqis will be convinced that we are about to abandon them even before we do, and will cut and run themselves before what they see as the inevitable betrayal.

The mess they will make they will be able to blame on the then-disgraced Bush with the help of their MSM fellow travelers (in fact, your incorrect opinions have already been largely informed by this source, proving that it works). This will enable them to make further gains in 2008, which then runs out the clock on the tax cuts, which expire without reauthorization in 2010.

Your aloof complacency may be fashionable, but it is not reasonable. In a time of war, all elections are critical.

If we see a President Pelosi in the next two years, I'll personally eat a pound of Orrin's back hair.
It ain't gonna happen.

HT -- Consider decaf.

curt's wrong about throwing bastards out--none of the safe crooks lose, only folks who have to watch their step because their margin is narrow--but right about it being meaningless.

No one cares about the war. None of us are fighting it and it's so cheap we are barely paying for it.

The !Bush Lied! theme took a major hit today, with the NYT announcing on the front page that the document trove from Iraq is genuine (of course, they had other reasons for doing it, but they gave their pronuncement nonetheless). I don't think there will be any more op-eds from Joe Wilson, either.

Santorum will probably win, so the GOP may hold even in the Senate (I think they will win at least one of MI, NJ, and WA - MN is unknown, because the polling is more twisted there than anywhere else). Steele will win in MD, too.

If the Dems win the House, it will be by only a seat or two. Not really a margin to do anything. And Pelosi will have enough trouble trying to put Alcee Hastings on the Intelligence Committee (can't you just see John McCain and Dick Cheney trashing her for that?).

2008 will be a tough year for the Dems, because Landrieu won't win in LA and Tim Johnson may retire in SD. Plus, it is much more likely that 2008 will be a 55-45 GOP victory for the Presidency than another close election.

oj --

No, they're all bastards after a few years in office, but not necessarily crooks. They need a reality check on that inevitable day when they begin to feel entitled to the position, treat our money as theirs, expect to be treated like royalty by all and sundry, etc etc. You are correct that too many of them are protected from ever getting that reality check.

OJ - if noone cared about the war Bush's approval numbers would be 15pts higher.

Curt - there are impeachment amendments on the ballot in heavy Dem areas like CA, MA, and elsewhere - and as HT noted Conyers and others are clamoring for it. They may not have the numbers to pass it but they can tie up the House for months.

Iraq - "they will defer to the president" - they haven't since 2002 why would they now? Kennedy can't wait to do another Vietnam like pullout.

No action on SS and tax reform - mainly due to Dem obstruction. Won't get easier if the Dems have larger numbers. And the clock is ticking big time on SS reform.

And of course don't forget judges as it is highly likely there will be several Supreme Court vacencies in the next few years.

No, they're all "bastards" before they run. That's why they feel they can run. Once they have power they just accept the perks that come with it, which is what folks think makes them "crooks."

aww -- Sorry, I can't get too worked up about the unlikely prospect of them "tying up the House for months." If they want to be that dumb, good for us.

They will defer on Iraq rather than taking part ownership of the problem as the majority, as opposed to taking potshots as backbenchers.

His approval numbers weren't 15 points higher either time he won the presidential. He's a 49-51% president whose numbers were knocked down by soaring gas prices and relentless interest rate hikes. When gas is back under $2 and Bernanke starts cutting he'll get back to 50.

aww: judges......enough said. Losing the Senate could be a catastrophe. That bastid Stevens would die just to spite Republicans.

ed:

So what? Either W appoints a black or Hispanic and makes Dems vote against them or a Senator, who gets courtesy, like Hatch or Cornyn, or open Supreme Court seats are an issue in the '08 election, which is death for the Left.

Viet Dinh should be able to get through.

The size of the revisions are incredible. Something is clearly making their sampling ability much worse than it used to be. I can't imagine that it's just all the people who make their living off EBay and things like that, but it can't help.

Gotta side with OJ and Curt on this one.

Obviously, a GOP congress makes things easier on the President but it will hardly destroy him.

Lets assume the Dems reverse the curent 233-203 GOP lead and take the Senate 51-49 which are the worse cases possible.

How do they override a veto on anything important?

How do they keep Orrin Hatch or a well qualified but non controversarial minority off the S/C? If they can, McCain will just ride that horse to the White House.

How do they convict in the Senate? 51 ain't 2/3. They won't even get 51, do you think Ben Nelson or Joe Lieberman will vote to convict?

How do they stop the President fom ordering military strikes on Iran or NK if that is what he wants? Hard to put missles back in their launchers after they have exploded.

Raise taxes? Already in place until 2010. See veto discussion above.

Iraq? Cut off funds? OJ would get his 60-40 if they do that. Dead GIs due to a cut off. That will play well in 2008. Anyways, the President is going to pull out on his own. Why do you think Jim Baker is at the Iraq Study Group?

Winning is better than losing but the Dems just won't have the votes. Except on immigration and that the President will sign. If a Dem was in the White House, then I'd worry.

Doesn't know how to win? Bush has been shot at from all sides, everything he does or says is lambasted and yet, he's won every battle. He would have won in Iraq a long time ago if the traitors on the left hadn't kept the terrorists hope alive that Bush would be defeated and the halcyon days of appeasement would return as well the steady stream of oil money into the hands of lefties round the world.