Rich Lowry convincingly explains how the Dems shot themselves in the foot by kowtowing to the anti-war left.

Money Q:

Throughout this past year, they (the Dems) could have seized the broad middle in the debate concerning the war. They could have worked with a slice of moderate Republicans on legislation that wouldn't have forced an end to the war, but made them the representatives of a bipartisan alternative to Bush's strategy. Instead they talked of ending the war outright, positioning themselves to the left of the public and setting themselves an unattainable goal.

Thus, they became the party of the impotent left-wingers. They fell victim to all the same dreary failings of overreaching congressional Republicans after their takeover of Congress in 1994 -- hubris, self-delusion, and a slavish devotion to their political base.