At the same time, Obama’s Congressional allies will bring him far more problems (and far fewer political assets) than did the House and Senate leaders who gave Bill Clinton their loyal support in the first two years after his election. Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell of Maine and House Speaker Tom Foley of Washington both came across as solid, serious, strikingly articulate public servants and presented themselves as moderate (or at least mainstream) Democrats.

Current House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, on the other hand, looks like an addled and terrified ditz in all her TV appearances and counts as the most unabashedly leftist leader in the long history of the House. Senate Majority leader Harry Reid (or “Dingy Harry” as Rush Limbaugh appropriately describes him) performs more feebly on television than any politician of modern times; his speech at the Democratic Convention in Denver was a veritable masterpiece of stomach-churning and whining excess, which I played several times for the delight of my radio audience. Reid also will face heightened scrutiny in the next few years for his numerous shady Las Vegas real estate transactions and his four sons who work as gold-plated lobbyists with notably unsavory connections. Meanwhile, the lobbyist son of Vice President Biden could provide additional embarrassment-- not to mention the likelihood of uncomfortable questions about the highly dubious financing and tax reporting of the Vice President’s own 7,000 square foot, 6.5 acre lakefront mansion.

In general, both Congressional caucuses contain fewer moderates and more true believers than they did in 1993—a situation that will almost certainly benefit the opposition party. The Democrats in both House and Senate feature more strident “progressives” than any Congress in 60 years (imagine Al Franken inserted into the “world’s most exclusive club”!) and these liberals will make it more difficult for President Obama to implement centrist policies or rein in the ideological excesses of his own party’s militants. Meanwhile, the surviving Republicans and their leaders embrace a far more coherent conservative outlook than ever before: for better or worse, Lincoln Chafee, Chuck Hagel, Gordon Smith and Mike DeWine are gone. In 1993, Republican House leader Bob Michel of Illinois endorsed a go-along-to-get-along philosophy that John Boehner and his hard-charging new whip, Eric Cantor, emphatically reject. Though the partisan alignment may look identical in House and Senate, the 111th Congress that convenes in January should prove even more challenging for Barack Obama than did the 103rd for Bill Clinton.

Then, finally, there’s the question of national party leadership. In 1992-93, the Republicans looked disheartened and shattered, with no credible potential candidates to challenge Bill Clinton for re-election. The first President Bush had retired to Texas and Kennebunkport, with few insiders thrilled by the presidential prospects of his much-derided Vice President, Dan Quayle. The National Review, surveying the dearth of GOP leadership, ran a famous cover story featuring a caricature of Rush Limbaugh as “The Leader of the Opposition.”

Well, Rush is still there, joined today by a dozen other conservative radio hosts with significant national impact and loyal followings. Fox News also helps in providing an answer to distortions by the alphabet networks. More importantly, the Republican Party features any number of bright young stars who could challenge Obama in 2012 or his successor in 2016. Governors Jindal of Louisiana, Pawlenty of Minnesota and, yes, Palin of Alaska, all could make serious races for national office, as could the formidably gifted former governors Huckabee of Arkansas and Romney of Massachusetts. Congressmen Pence of Indiana and Cantor of Virginia also qualify as rising political stars with nearly limitless futures, as do Senators Thune of South Dakota or Coleman of Minnesota (if he survives the ongoing recount against Al Franken).

This situation compares highly favorably to the Republican dilemma in challenging Bill Clinton in 1996, when the party in desperation embraced the desultory candidacy of Majority Leader Bob Dole after a primary campaign featuring flawed or listless figures such as Pat Buchanan, Lamar Alexander, Phil Gramm, Bob Dornan, Steve Forbes, Dick Lugar and Adamant Alan Keyes (who’s still available, no doubt, if anyone wants him). Dole lost, of course, by a margin of 8.53%--- a far more decisive thumping than John McCain just received.

In short, neither the lop-sided Democratic numbers in the House and Senate, nor the solid (but hardly overwhelming) victory by Barack Obama, should cause Republican partisans to despair. Bill Clinton – an even more experienced and savvy politician than Obama—boasted nearly identical strength, and a similarly fawning press, when he took office in 1993.

Nevertheless, Republicans came together behind conservative principles and took full advantage of the inevitable stumbles of the rookie president. With vision and resilience, they rebuilt the party surprisingly quickly, and won a string of Congressional victories that defied all the gloomy predictions. In terms of staging a dramatic and improbable comeback after a dispiriting defeat, we’ve been there, done that.