Democrats Hone the Brand

Peterson was generally seen as a success in office, and Ballard was so much the underdog that he got little help from Indiana's Republican governor, Mitch Daniels. But the establishment's coolness may have only underscored Ballard's outsider status. He rode to victory on voter unhappiness with tax increases and crime.

Ballard's triumph, observed Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.), is a warning for all incumbents, including Democrats. "There is a strong discontent at all levels," said Davis, whose wife, state Sen. Jeannemarie Devolites Davis, was one of the Republican victims in Tuesday's voting, "and if you find the right seam, you can exploit it."

This discontent also felled a slew of incumbent mayors in Ohio and gave Democrats a significant victory over a Republican incumbent in Canton, a race both parties had targeted in the nation's leading battleground state. Democrats now dominate in Ohio's largest cities.

Moreover, Davis noted that Bush continues to be "radioactive," giving Republicans "a terrible brand name," particularly among "educated, wealthy folks who used to be the backbone of our party."

That may well keep the Democratic tide rolling through 2008. But facing a president who shows little interest in making deals with them -- and harboring doubts about whether such a strategy could work anyway -- congressional Democrats are unlikely to join their state colleagues in finding deliverance in nonpartisan problem-solving. Washington is not yet ready for the Tim Kaine model, even if the country is.

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