Sailormon makes very good points. The Democratic congress and the joined-at-the-hip MSM have not figured out yet that we're winning in Iraq, by any measure. Their distress is signaled by the trumpeting of the marginly useful statistic that this year was the most deadly in Iraq. But the trend is what counts. Week before last there were zero deaths in Anbar province, previously known as the Iraqi contender for most dangerous place on earth. WE'RE WINNING! Americans grow tired of losing; we've got room in our hearts for one lovable loser, the Chicago Cubs, and even there we'd just as soon pretend that they are really pretending to be trying to win. Progress is being made, progress that will allow the nascent Iraqi government to make it's own progress. The American voter get's it and they know which party is the party of defeat.
Notice that the Democratic presidential canidates are mumming up on the subject of Iraq along with the MSM? It wouldn't do to have too many recent sound bites out there calling for immediate withdrawal from an unwinnable war. But it is their baggage, nevertheless.
The Democratic field is pretty well set. You've got the "naked ambition with a pumped up resume" canidate versus the "I'm pretty new here, cut me some slack, and where's the rest room?" canidate. The lesser planets will soon be only viewable on Star Trek re-runs. It appears that Hillary has the nomination in hand if she can just avoid actually commiting to something in public. That little problem of "Driving with Wet-backs" she got into does not bear repeating. Eliot Spitzer doesn't play that well in New York, he's the reason people in Peoria are glad they're in Peoria.
There's just one eensy-weensy little problem with the Moose Butt Party"s presumptive canidate. 50% of the populace think she reminds them of their ex-wife! Let's face it, justified or not, half the American populace think of Hillary the same way the kids thought of Miss Balbreaker in Porky's. "Negatives" are more important than "positives" in politics and Hillary's shopping cart is full of 'em.
The plus for Republicans in all of this is that their primary battles are just starting to heat up. And after they're over, the eventual nominee is going to be able to jettison the issue baggage of his opponents, focusing only on his own issues. Hillary is going to be stuck with what she's always been stuck with; Hillary.
A good article below on why Dems should be nervous, very nervous.
http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?...etting_nervous