Senate GOP leader sets low expectations for 2008 elections [View All]

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/07/20/senate-gop-leader-sets-low-expectations-for-2008-elections/

Senate GOP leader sets low expectations for 2008 elections

McConnell has set the bar low for his party’s chances in 2008.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Republicans are unlikely to win back control of the Senate in 2008, their Senate leader, Mitch McConnell, said Friday, gloomily predicting that “holding our own is about all we could hope for.”

But McConnell didn’t blame the low approval ratings of the Congress or the president or public rejection of the Iraq war for the anticipated poor showing by the GOP.

“The numbers are against us,” he told reporters at a Capitol news conference, noting that 22 Republicans and just 12 Democrats are up for re-election this cycle. “It would take an extraordinarily good day to get back up to 50. So our goal is to stay roughly where we are.

“If we had a good day we might be able to get it back narrowly,” he said. “But that’s just a realistic assessment of where we are.”

— CNN Congressional Producer Ted Barrett