The Democrats need to rally around the spirit of Mark Twain. Like the novelist, the report of the death of the Democratic Party was an exaggeration. A poll released Sept. 16 by Politico and George Washington University bears that out.

The survey finds that Republicans and Democrats are tied 43-43 in a generic match-up. That is great news for Democrats because the tide will turn in their favor when actual names of candidates are factored into the equation.

The Republicans have some downright scary characters running for Senate and Governor seats. Tea Party characters such as Christine O’Donnell (Delaware), Rand Paul (Kentucky), Joe Miller (Alaska), Ken Buck (Colorado) and Buffalo's Carl Paladino, whom the New York Daily News dubbed “Crazy Carl” on the cover of Thursday's paper, lead the roster of wingnuts.

Another major plus: the media worm will soon turn for the Dems. The media have beaten down the Dems for so long that it’s time for them to reverse course and inflict some pain on Republicans.

O’Donnell’s claim that there is “just as much, if not more, evidence supporting the idea that God created the Earth in six days as there is for evolution” is bound get wide pick-up, winning friends and votes for her opponent, Chris Coons.

The media love an election dogfight so as November nears more scrutiny will be given to the Party of Sarah Palin and Just Say No. The Democrats will look better each day. The key: stop whining and get down to business on reviving the economy and putting an end to the quagmire in Iraq/Afghanistan.

Of Palin, a CBS News/New York Times poll finds that the former Alaska Governor’s unfavorable rating has jumped six points to 46 percent since August. Only 21 percent of respondents have a favorable rating of Palin, which is two points more than the Tea Partiers. Nearly 60 percent of respondents believe that Palin would be an ineffective President. Thankfully, the country will never know how Sarah would do as Commander-in-Chief.