Democrats look poised for watershed win

WASHINGTON: Widespread dissatisfaction with Iraq continues to give Democrats their best chance in years of winning back Congress, according to new polls, although party leaders cautioned on Wednesday against being overly optimistic.

Pundits said Democrats could wrest control of at least one chamber of the US legislature from ruling Republicans, though the election landscape remained unsettled less than a week before midterm elections.

Respondents favoured opposition Democrats 52 percent to 37 percent over Republicans ahead of the November 7 legislative elections, according to the survey by The Wall Street Journal and NBC television.

The poll found 54 percent of voters saying it was not worth the human and economic price to remove former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein from power, while 63 percent said they disapproved of President George W. Bush's handling of Iraq.

And while leads in individual elections have shifted some states, the overall picture remained the same: Democrats hold a firm lead over Republicans in the view of most Americans.

Eight in 10 respondents who said they are unhappy with the turn of events in Iraq also called for Democratic leadership of the US legislature.

Still, leading political strategist James Carville warned fellow Democrats against popping champagne corks on the basis of polls.

"Six days from now, no one will care what ABC News or The Wall Street Journal said. It'll be how many votes you got," he told US television networks on Wednesday.

In a memo to party faithful this week, however, he noted that Iraq may prove to be Democrats' winning card.   

"The Republicans are weakening on many fronts, particularly Iraq. The changes on Iraq are major, with disillusionment greatest in the more Republican districts, which is expanding the playing field in the least competitive districts," Carville wrote.