Counting 2012's chickens in 2007?

Neil the Ethical Werewolf:

Right now Democrats have a 51-49 majority. Just because so many Republicans are at risk in 2008, we're likely to make big gains. After 2010 I'd expect our Senate majority to be something like 57-43. A filibuster-proof 60-seat majority is unlikely, but not impossible. But we're almost guaranteed to lose a lot of seats in 2012 when several red-state Democrats face the voters.

This means that we have four years -- the next presidential term -- to get our biggest ideas like health care reform through Congress. Our power will wane in 2012, and we may not get another chance like this for a very long time.

It's one of the reasons why we ought to demand solid progressive commitments from our presidential candidates. At this early stage, full policy specifics aren't obligatory, but there's no reason that anybody should be declaring their support for candidates who are unwilling to commit themselves, at least in broad terms, to ambitious left-wing goals.