The blind leading the blind

Money quote from today's Washington Times' opinion piece on election dynamics:

The point of this brief history lesson is this: During periods of lopsided partisan control, minority tactical gambles mean less in the big-casino politics. But when margins shrink, strategic bets can either yield large payoffs or big busts. Democrats hope the "culture of corruption" gambit helps them hit the electoral jackpot in November, but a raft of survey evidence suggests it's not working.

Last week, two veteran pollsters, Republican Ed Goeas and Democrat Celinda Lake, released their well-respected "Battleground Poll." In his "Republican Strategic Analysis," Mr. Goeas confirms what many public and private polls, including my own, have found over the past year. He writes, "the mood of the electorate is not an anti-incumbent mood, an anti-Democratic or anti-Republican mood, but an anti-Washington mood."

So the refrain, "culture of corruption" doesn't automatically translate to anti-Republican sentiment, as Democrats bet it will. Instead, it splashes mud on both parties, reminding voters that it's the political class in Washington — not any particular party — that deserves their ire.

Me thinks that as long as they have no real message, all the talk about winning '06 is exactly that.