No more dancing around the polls

It might not be a bad idea to start preparing for another "terrorist attack," given that the latest AP/Ispos poll has clocked our CIA leak-authorizing commander in chief's approval rating at a lowest-ever 36 percent, and approval of the Republican-led Congress at 30 percent with respondents stating 49 to 33 percent that Democrats should control Congress over Republicans.

"These numbers are scary. We've lost every advantage we've ever had," GOP pollster Tony Fabrizio said. "The good news is Democrats don't have much of a plan. The bad news is they may not need one."

Don't quotes like that just warm the cockles of your cardiac apparatus? When they're not even spouting lines about moving into "opportunity zones" for recapturing public praise stronger than ever before, even the cynics have to wonder whether something just might be going on here. Even national security, the most sacred cow of electoral opinion, is up for slaughter:

On an issue the GOP has dominated for decades, Republicans are now locked in a tie with Democrats–41 percent each–on the question of which party people trust to protect the country. Democrats made their biggest national security gains among young men, according to the AP-Ipsos poll, which had a 3 percentage point margin of error.

The public gives Democrats a slight edge on what party would best handle Iraq, a reversal from Election Day 2004.

Hell, at this point, many people would probably trust someone like Ralph Nader or Ross Perot to better handle Iraq, as the current authorities may as well be, to borrow a phrase from one of the greatest television shows ever, chimpanzees with revolvers.

Yet even with the opinion climate remaining stable or chilling further, Democrats will surely still find innovative means of screwing things up come November, 2006 or 2008.

They also run a serious danger of falling into the same trap they did in 2004–running "electable" candidates who inspire no passion in voters eager for change on the rationale that anything at all is preferable to the incumbent malarkey.

Particularly if they try and act on a strategy of remaining utterly unincendiary (read: do nothing and say nothing of substance) to try and give disillusioned Republicans no reason to get out the polls on election day, they just might end up giving their likely supporters no reason to do so either.

So, Democrats, as election season approaches, step up and demand some productive change. You'll make all displeased Americans proud if you stop ignoring the elephant in the room and start acting like asses.