NBC: Democrats giddy about chances in 2006

Democrats giddy about chances in 2006
But plenty of obstacles remain before taking control of Congress

By Mark Murray
Political reporter
NBC News
Updated: 11:13 a.m. ET Dec. 14, 2005

ORLANDO, Fla. - Talk about a difference. This time a year ago, Democrats were in the midst of their winter of discontent. They had failed to defeat George W. Bush in the presidential election, they had lost four seats in the Senate, and they also had lost more ground in the House. "We've got to reassess ourselves," Democratic strategist James Carville lamented after the elections. "We've got to be born again."

But as prominent Democrats (including those eyeing a presidential bid in 2008) gathered here in Walt Disney World over the weekend for the Florida Democratic Party’s conference, the mood was upbeat, boastful even, about picking up seats in next year’s midterm elections -- and perhaps even regaining control of Congress. "I am hugely optimistic about our chances," former Sen. John Edwards, who was John Kerry's running mate, told reporters.

"We're coming, and we're going to getcha," the usually mild-mannered Gov. Tom Vilsack of Iowa told the gathering Saturday.

Did Disney World make these Democrats a bit, well, goofy? Hardly. They have plenty of reasons to feel optimistic about next year's elections. Bush's poll numbers remain at politically perilous levels, although they have begun to inch up. The public also is still dissatisfied with how the Bush administration has handled the Iraq war, the economy, and Hurricane Katrina.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10455096/