Some Democrats--particularly those who see him as inept and weak--see a Bush presidency with decided mixed emotions. Whatever the merits of this assessment, a number of factors could help the Republicans greatly over the next few years. PNS commentator Earl Ofari Hutchinson is the author of The Disappearance of Black Leadership. His e-mail address is ehutchi344@aol.com.

While Democratic lawmakers have been publicly cheering Al Gore for his determination, many have privately resigned themselves to a Bush triumph. A few have even dared to whisper that a Gore loss might not be a total catastrophe.

They ridicule Bush as weak, inept and horribly compromised. They're convinced that a Bush presidency will be littered with malapropisms and domestic and foreign policy bumbles. They think it will be weakened by a slowing economy, tormented by hostile Democrats in a deeply divided Congress and, finally, that it will have to face the fury of millions of voters who passionately believe that Bush and the Republicans stole the White House.

With 20 Republicans and only 13 Democrats in the Senate up for election in 2002, they are giddy at the prospect that Republicans will lose seats in Congress, as the winning president's party has lost seats in the House of Representatives in every mid-term election since the Civil War, except in 1934 and 1998.

But the Democrat's euphoria could easily crash against the following realities.

- Redistricting. During the next two years many state legislatures will redraw Congressional districts based on the 2000 Census. Many of these legislatures are dominated by Republicans and can be expected to make every effort to redraw those districts in a way that cripples the Democrats' influence and voting strength.

- Voter Cynicism. Even without the dragged-out Gore-Bush legal mess that has soured many voters, and allegations of fraudulent practices cheating black voters nationally, millions of eligible voters have long since thrown up their hands in disgust and rage at a system they regard as corrupt and suffocated by special interests.

The overwhelming majority of those turned-off potential voters are minorities, lower-income workers, and immigrants--the Democrats' natural constituency. They continue to stay away from the polls in droves.

Many Democrats engaged in a shameful orgy of bashing Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader and scapegoating him for Gore's loss. But many of those who voted for Nader would not have voted for any Democrat, least of all one like Gore. They regarded both Gore and Bush as corporate shills and deal-making party hacks.

- Minority Outreach. Nearly half of Latino voters in Florida and Texas, and one-third of Asian voters in California voted for Bush. Blacks voted by more than 90 percent for Gore--not because they were enamored of him, but because they were scared stiff that Bush will appoint more judges like Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court, and batter civil rights and civil liberties protections.

Polls show that many blacks, particularly young blacks, are edging more to the political right on economic and social issues. They support school vouchers, more support for minority businesses, more aid for historically black colleges, and tax cuts--all pet Republican issues.

If the Republicans ever wise up and make any kind of sustained outreach to blacks they could pry loose the Democrats' iron grip. If Bush appoints Colin Powell Secretary of State and Condoleeza Rice as National Security Advisor, as rumored, it would be a first for blacks and women and could pay mounds of dividends for the GOP among both groups.

- Busted Economy. The economy has slowed, but the Federal Reserve's micro-managing of interest rates, the continued expansion of the retail and service industries, a massive trillion-dollar surplus, the widening of the NAFTA partnership with Mexico, and the growth and spread of dot-com technology could prevent, or at least stave off, the predicted economic slide. If so, Bush, like Clinton, would get the credit.

- Centrist Bush. Bush will inherit a terribly divided Congress. He must work under the suspicion that he is an interloper in the Oval Office and will be under the hawk-like watch of minorities, labor, and Democrats of all stripes. This will force him to scrape off the harder edges of his ultra-conservative social agenda.

- No Strong Democrat Contender. Democrats will need to find someone with the allure, name recognition, and money to knock off a sitting president. With the possible exception of Hillary Rodham Clinton, they have no one that fits that bill. And that certainly includes Gore.