The Politico takes an good look at how the GOP is in an “anemic” state:

As the New Year arrives at last in Iowa, the signs are everywhere why Democrats have much more reason than Republicans to welcome 2008.

Iowans are voting with their feet. While both parties have wide-open nomination contests, crowds for the Democratic candidates in recent days are unmistakably larger and more enthusiastic than those turning out for the GOP contenders.

Around the country, people are voting with their wallets. Early reports on the close of 2007 fundraising put a yearlong financial disparity between the parties on glaring display.

This is typical for the GOP – they wait until it is too late to realize there is a problem. The GOP candidates have been out there basically saying everything Bush has done has been great and we need more of it. Ask the average citizen, Democrat or Republican, who has been grocery shopping lately. Ask that same person how their utility bills are and every other expense and then ask them to compare it to their income.

You also know it is bad when you got Ken Mehlman admitting it:

Ken Mehlman, a former Republican National Committee chairman and the campaign manager for Bush’s 2004 reelection, agreed that there is for now an enthusiasm gap. “Some of it is natural, and some of it is the basis for concern,” he said.

Mehlman who used to be on Russert all the time talking about how much people loved what Bush was doing. I guess fantasy land wasn’t as much fun as they thought.

But there is one part of this article that I don’t fully agree with:

The natural part is that the opposition party, after years out of power, is typically more energized by elections and more hungry for victory. His party was the beneficiary of the same trend in 2000.

How quickly these reporters forget. Al Gore won the popular vote in 2000 and the Supreme Court made Bush President. If losing the popular vote was a sign of an energized GOP, then what we are seeing today must be the norm. Also there was proven vote tampering in 2000, which means Gore could have won by even more. So losing the popular vote and having to cheat in order to do so is a sign of being “energized” for the GOP? If that is the case then what the GOP is going through now must be the norm.