Test Run For 2008

But this could not immunize his candidacy from what Autry said was "an issue that, unfortunately, has resonance." The pollster described the "issue" with a compound word: "Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld." On Iraq, Ogonowski said the war was a mistake, but he was far less clear than Tsongas on withdrawing troops. She made ending the war a central theme of her campaign.

The Republican's final mistake was not taking a firm stand against Bush's SCHIP veto, which Tsongas roundly condemned. This, said Autry, "provided Tsongas with an example of where Ogonowski supported Bush's position." With health care as a rallying cry, Tsongas brought more than enough Democrats home.

A Tsongas loss might have justified the National Republican Congressional Committee's post-election spin that "the political tide has turned" since 2006. In fact, the issues that worked in 2006 came through again this week, and children's health care is now an additional Republican burden.

But Tsongas's victory was harder than it should have been. Any Democrat complacent about 2008 should go over the returns from Paul Tsongas's old district.

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