W must really be feeling pretty good about life these days.

First there was the historic election, where he actually gained seats for his party midway though his first term.

Then the mighty United Nations Security Council voted unanimously his way on the Iraq resolution.

Next, the lame duck 107th Congress was poised to hand him yet another victory with a Homeland Security bill he can sign.

The House passed the bill on a 229-121 vote Wednesday.

A couple procedural votes in the Senate, including one to kill a Democratic version that gave additional protection to workers, tilted toward W as well.

Senate Majority leader Tom Daschle said the Senate was expected to act within the next few days and that "I'm inclined to support final passage."

He added that Democrats wanted to see the bill move forward despite lingering concerns over labor provisions.

That's a far cry from the Tom Daschle who refused for weeks earlier this year to allow a vote on the bill at the behest of organized labor.

My guess is that he still really doesn't like the bill, but after studying the election returns, he has probably decided not to block an up or down vote on the Senate floor.

There's a price to be paid for obstructionism on either side of the aisle - especially when you're obstructing something so overtly popular as "Homeland Security."

The final W boost came in the form of a 270-143 House vote to keep federal agencies operating through Jan. 11. Senate passage is still needed and more than likely.

This means that Congress will wait to deal with the remaining 11 of 13 federal budget spending issues until after the 108th congress is sworn in, carrying with it the Republican majorities in both houses.

I know this has to have Democrats scratching their heads in disbelief.

Sagging economy, brink of war, 401Ks tanking, midterm election - it was the recipe for a Demo landslide.

But I think the Democrats' failure in the election was due at least in part to their inability to chip away at W's proposals.

Whether you agree with him or not, W's policies are well-defined. You know exactly where he stands. I think the voters responded to that.

It wasn't enough to blame W for a sagging economy. Democrats needed to say what they were going to do to fix the economy.

It wasn't enough to fire barbs at a lack of national security that may have contributed to 9/11. Voters wanted to know how candidates planned to make the United States more secure.

The Demos just seemed a little lacking in the idea department.

Enter W with a clear vision - tax cuts to boost the economy, Homeland Security.

And I really didn't notice W saying too much negative stuff about Democrats. In fact, he was urging them and everyone else - Republican, Libertarian, Independent - to get out and vote and to get on board with his plan for America.

And it appears at least some of them did.

But unless Republicans have learned the lessons of history, the Democrats don't have much to worry about in the future.

Historically, every time Democrats were down and out, they were able to recover because the Republicans in control strayed too far to the right.

The most recent and glaring example of that was the Republican revolution of 1994, the middle of Bill Clinton's first term, when the GOP roared to a majority in the House and also controlled the Senate.

Remember Newt Gingrich? Remember the Contract With America?

Republicans pushed too hard. They alienated some of their constituencies and Clinton masterfully exploited their foibles and co-opted their popular ideas.

That's what Clinton did best. He showed Democrats how to blur party differences.

He became a proponent - albeit reluctantly - of things like welfare reform and balanced budgets.

The next thing you know, Newt self-destructed and the Democrats were back in business.

So I think Republicans need to be careful. They need to avoid the propensity to overreach.

If they attempt an ideological coup with judicial nominations, rush to enact a ban on abortion, cap malpractice awards, roll back environmental laws, weaken gun laws and start punching oil wells in wildlife areas all at once, they tempt the same fate of Newt and the GOP of 1994.

Moderation and picking battles carefully are the keys.

(Remember, it was the liberal excesses of Bill and Hillary - national health care plan, gays in the military, etc. - that put Newt in power in the first place.)

Hopefully, the Republican leaders in the Senate and House, Trent Lott and Dennis Hastert, learned from the mistakes of Newt.

If they didn't, even a president as popular as W won't be able to save them. [[In-content Ad]]