Mark Halperin suggests as much in the latest TIME:
Unless the GOP ? quickly ? finds an appealing, aggressive and competent face for itself, Obama is going to have an easier time protecting his Democratic allies and shoring up his own strength than the polls currently suggest.
One wonders what historical precedent Halperin is considering when offering this assessment. 1994? Who was the Republican leader that year? Newt Gingrich was a leading critic, but no one had anointed him as ?the Republican leader.? Only after the Republicans? unexpected success did Gingrich rise to the prominence he?s enjoyed for the past 16 years.
On the other side of the aisle, what about 2006? Who was ?the leader? upon whom Democrats relied to help win massive midterm election gains?
