One of the components of planning is to ask yourself What If. For the Democrats they have to ask themselves what if they win the house and senate in 2006. What then? They can no longer keep the current strategy of simple, constant criticism, they will have to wield their power, and wield it well to get an advantage in the 2008 presidential election and not turn a two year gain into a long term loss.

First comes the budget. The democrats have criticized Bush and the republican congress on the deficit, but are the democrats willing to do what is necessary to reduce it? If so what will they cut? Military? Government? Social Programs? Will they raise taxes?

Next come national security issues. The Patriot act and treatment of Guantanamo bay prisoners have come under heavy fire, but can the Democrats afford to lessen the powers of the patriot act? Can they release prisoners who may be terrorists? Not if they want to go into 2008 without being still labeled as soft on terrorism, but if they make no attempt at reducing these programs powers, they will be labeled as hypocrites by the right and will isolate their base.

Last comes the biggest of all, Iraq. If the Democrats have the congress, they are faced with a tough decision. Keep troops there, or bring them home. If they keep troops in Iraq they alienate a large segment of their base going into 2008 and the presidential election. If they pull the troops out, chances are good for a civil war in Iraq, and the terrorists will be emboldened by a perceived victory while the US cost in lives and capital will be thrown away like so much trash.

Democrats are currently often perceived as a party without a plan. If they do win the congress in 2006, a strong possibility, they have a great opportunity for 2008. However, if they cannot pull themselves together in a coherent unit, and make tough choices that they can support in the media and to the American people, they have far more to lose than to gain.