I disagree with you on this now. If Chrissy Shays the Arch RINO from CT with no spine who has been hitting the RATS hard (ie calling Kennedy a murderer) on their hypocrisy the political climate amongst the Pubbies has changed, the gloves are off. The Republican slime machine has been operating in full steam. Look at all the dirt that has been coming out on the Rats in Ohio, TN and numrous other place. There has been lots of posts on the FR today showing Republican candidates that were trailing pulling even or with in the MOE. There are even a few Rat house seats that are coming into danger of losing. This story will only add fuel to the fire in the Repbublicans favor and we all know that Rove knows this and will not play nice.
I wish I had your optimism.