GOP Worrying

GOP Lawmakers Don't Want Voters' Blame for Economy

Republicans are acutely aware of what happened to Bush's father, the president who won the Persian Gulf War only to lose his reelection bid to Bill Clinton as the economy sagged. They find it frustrating that some economic indicators have improved recently without an accompanying uptick in new jobs.

"It's not panic yet, but it's just short of that," said Thomas E. Mann, a congressional scholar at the Brookings Institution. "It's a concern that real conditions on the ground, both in the economy and in Iraq, have raised serious questions about the performance of the Bush administration and the Republican majority."

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chairman Rep. Robert T. Matsui (Calif.) said voter unrest over the economy is proving a boon for his party and could have "profound" implications for the upcoming election.

"We're getting more and more candidates interested in running against Republican incumbents," Matsui said.