Today, the playing field is tilted in favor of Democrats. It doesn't mean it will be tilted as much or even in the same direction next month, let alone a year from now, but that's where it is now.

I think people have a sense that right now Democrats are completely powerless in Washington, that they're just sort of bystanders. But there's a danger of Democrats' looking always like they are carping. It's important for them to articulate some kind of vision.

If Democrats want to argue that the administration misrepresented and distorted the prewar intelligence, OK, that's one thing. But if they push the argument that they have been duped, fooled and victimized - well, to a lot of [independent swing] voters, they're just going to come across as weak.

If it's a seesaw, it's a little bit tilted in favor of renters. If the occupancy trend continues, then people aren't going to be putting rents up. Rents would at least stay stable and possibly decline.

By almost every relevant measurement, national polls indicate that Republicans are at least as bad off as Democrats were at this point in 1994, before suffering devastating midterm losses.

The risk is enormous to Democrats. Even talking about censure or impeachment threatens to really agitate the Republican base.