great points, repo
i was actually getting my own backbone fixed on election day last Tuesday, Aug. 2nd, but i think my second or third conscious thought upon surfacing after surgery on Tuesday afternoon was "did Hackett win?"
Paul Hackett is one of the few and first Dems to run on the war as a major issue - most other Dems don't have the balls and nobody has the credibility he has as an Iraq vet. while the 10%-15% he shaved off the GOP candidate's margin was not enough to carry the day in bedrock Ohio GOP country, it would be more than enough to make the difference elsewhere in the US.
the war is the issue - if the Dems think they make any gains in 2006 on the traditional jobs and health care platform, they are dead wrong and they will lose again. making the war the main issue will also highlight BushCo's obvious lack of integrity, the fiscal irresponsibility of the war spending, and the overall incompetence and corruption of the administration.
it's going to take a Howard Dean attitude, which most Dems are afraid of, but that "go along to get along" mindset is not going to cut it anymore. notice how hysterically shrill the righties get everytime Dean opens his mouth - that should tell you something right there.