This morning brings a sweet avalanche of good news for the Democrats, the gang that couldn't campaign straight. From the fruited plains of Kansas to the forgotten industrial towns of upstate New York, all around the nation people are giving bland centrism and glib triangulation a second chance. Republicans are scrambling for answers and starving for leadership.

But there is one man, one lone soldier on the parapet, a warrior of steely spirit and girded gullet, ready to mount the tired elephant and lead the charge to glory. And that man is ... the jerk who got them in this mess in the first place. Yesterday, Tom Reynolds — National Republican Congressional Committee chair, Mark Foley cover-upper, and part-time youth exploiter — arose from his premature winter slumber, shook off the cobwebs, and reassured voters with this helpful cliché.

"Democrats, desperate after more than a decade out of power, are trying to nationalize this election," Reynolds told the National Press Club yesterday. "But the old saying still rings true: Voters may hate Congress, but they like their local representative."

Reynolds didn't bother to note the he's trailing in his own reelection bid by thirteen points, a contradiction that suggests either (a) the old rule of incumbency is changing or (b) Tom Reynolds is just that transcendently loathsome.

Moderates in Kansas Decide They're Not in GOP Anymore [WP]

Tables Turned for the G.O.P. Over Iraq Issue [NYT]

Reynolds Sees GOP Victory But Avoids Talk About His Tight Race [Democrat & Chronicle]