Politicians debate size of election 'wave'

WASHINGTON, Oct. 31 (UPI) -- Two days before the midterm elections, a Democratic leader said an "undertow" was building against the expected GOP "wave."

Speaking on CBS's "Face the Nation" Sunday, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell said, "I've sensed -- and I've been out campaigning the last couple of weeks, I've sensed that if this is a Republican tidal wave, I've sensed a Democratic undertow going against it. Democrats are much more fired up in the last two weeks than people would think."

He cited black, gay and Latino voters as constituencies that are "on fire."

Rendell blamed "bad communications" for the party's difficulties.

Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota disagreed.

"With all due respect to my good friend Ed Rendell," he said, "I don't think it's about communication. I think it's about the product. They're trying to sell something that isn't any good. And what we have now is an economy that remains in the doldrums."

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said she hoped for cooperation in the next Congress.

"I think courage is not necessarily going to be standing up alone in the coming years," she said. "It's going to be standing next to someone you don't always agree with to work for this country."