"In many ways, the 1994 election has become the template both Republicans and Democrats are looking to as they set their strategies for the fall Congressional elections," the New York Times observes. "Democratic campaign operatives, who are girding for big losses, began meeting quietly with party strategists involved in the 1994 contests last summer, looking for lessons on how to avoid another rout."
"Yet 1994 seems an imprecise way to predict how this contest will play out. While there are intriguing parallels, there are some important differences as well. And though Democrats might look to those differences as glimmers of light ... the divergences seem as likely to benefit Republicans as Democrats, analysts in both parties said."
"Further, it seems too early to measure the effect of what is perhaps the biggest difference between the two cycles -- that Democrats this time succeeded in passing a major health care bill."