Mort Kondracke reports that the voters deliberately voted Republican, reflecting the sudden upturn in the NYTimes and Gallup generic polls. If true, this is an opportunity that the Rs had better not squander. With the media against them, constantly spouting the siren song of government benefits, they have a hard time keeping their majorities, and leaders like Newt G. don't help.


I've heard all kinds of theories about what caused the sudden shift, but I think the biggest one was that "memorial" for Paul Wellstone. It turned off an awful lot of swing voters. After that, I'd say it was Bush's enegetic campaigning, making the case that he can't fight this war with Tom Daschle blocking bills he needs. Of course, that also casts a lot of blame on the Dems for handing him that issue, but they were pretty inept in making their own issues. The economy, for instance, was supposed to be their big issue, but they had no program. Their only real thought was to repeal the Bush tax cuts, but they knew that wouldn't help them at the polls. Beyond that, they were empty. Their only ideas for getting elected have always been to promise new programs, but they don't know anything about national security that Bush isn't already doing.