Among the outcomes that need to be prevented: al-Qaeda in Iraq setting up permanent bases in the Sunni regions of the west; Iran controlling the Shia regions of the south; Saddam Hussein released from his cell and restored to his palaces; the pro-American Kurds coming under attack by hostile neighbors; militant Islamist terrorists using additional waves of suicide-bombings of innocent civilians to drive Americans out of Afghanistan and also to take over Jordan, Bangladesh and other countries.
Additionally, despite Odom's strange delusions, it would be catastrophic if the militant Islamist, terrorist-sponsoring, oil-rich and feverishly anti-American regime in Iran were to obtain nuclear weapons.
Both Democrats and the Bush administration would benefit from working cooperatively and successfully on these issues. Bipartisan support would make it easier for the president to take bolder initiatives and rally the public behind them. Democrats would have a chance to reclaim the standing they enjoyed on national security under such presidents as Roosevelt, Truman and Kennedy.
It is only in recent years that Democrats developed a reputation for fecklessness when it comes to foreign policy and defense. Largely as a result, from Lyndon Johnson's departure from the Oval Office in 1969 to Bill Clinton's post-Cold War return there in 1992, a Democrat served as president for only one term -- and that was thanks to a Republican scandal. The Carter administration, by responding ineffectually to Iran's Islamist revolution, further tarnished the Democratic brand on foreign policy, a fact that has plagued Democratic presidential candidates for more than a generation.
If, over the next two years, Democrats can reestablish their hard power credentials, their chances to re-take the White House in 2008 will improve markedly. If they fail to accomplish that, their best hope is that Republicans continue to over-promise, under-achieve and get caught in sundry scandals and embarrassments. (Not that that's such a long shot.)