I think people have a will for a War on Terrorism but they were not convinced about the War in Iraq. They do not see those two as the same thing. The administration has not made a good case for the War in Iraq. (The nukes story was too little, too late.) The President is not an articulate spokesman. And when body bags keep coming home every month, and that drags on for a few years, and people are not convinced it's worth it. . . . All I'm saying is, that was the POLITICAL reality.
Add to that a lack of enthusiasm (voting reluctantly but not working for candidates) on the part of conservatives because of the spend-happy Democrat-Lite Republicans in D.C. Then factor in several candidates hurt by their own gaffes or scandals, and there goes Congress.