Perkins is livid (And maybe just a little bit anxious? Nahhh, not him ;-) over a USA Today story asserting that Republicans are facing "a 'wave' election" -- in fact, "That's 'wave' as in 'tidal wave.' They happen about once a decade and are almost always bad news for the people in power."

And why might that be so?

Republicans have counted on financial advantage, redrawn district lines and the power of parochial issues and constituent services to hold narrow majorities in Congress since they won control 12 years ago. In the election now precisely six months away, however, they'll have to defy history to avoid losing the House of Representatives to Democrats.

A handful of issues is shaping the landscape for competitive contests nationwide, driving down the standing of President Bush and Congress and creating formidable hurdles for the GOP. Democrats are banking that unhappiness over the Iraq war -- plus record gas prices, divisions over immigration, snags in Medicare's new prescription-drug benefit and corruption -- will make this election a referendum on the president and the direction of the country.

I know, I know: Tony can hardly believe it either. But incredible as it might seem, for most people gay marriage, abortion and Janice Jackson's wardrobe adjustment just aren't making the cut this year.  

It's in times of trouble such as these that his troubled flock needs the sage counsel of a spiritual adviser like Tony Perkins, a man who knows "What to Think About."

"We can't tell you what to think,"said CBS Newsman Roger Mudd decades ago, "but we can tell you what to think about." That's called setting the agenda. And it gives the Mainstream Media far too much power. But it only happens if you let them do it.

Senior political writer Susan Page tries to set the agenda in this morning's USA Today with her story: "Five issues redraw playing field for Election 2006." She lists the Iraq War, gas prices, immigration, prescription drugs, and corruption as the defining issues of the mid-term elections.

None of the social issues made her list. To the elite MSM, social issues are mere "wedges." They are what is "wrong with Kansas" and a bunch of other states they regard as "flyover country." Social issues--like the defense of marriage, the sanctity of life, and broadcast decency--are really bridge issues. They bridge differences of race, sex, and religion to bring together Americans who care deeply about their families and the future of our country.

If these issues are ignored, conservatives cannot rely on Halloween scare talk about liberal Democrats' plans to impeach George Bush.

And then he finally said something worth remembering.

Message to conservative leaders: Don't let the MSM tell you what to think about and talk about.

Those are words of wisdom for the rest of us, too. For once, I think Tony just might be onto something.  

Because he never has been one to let worry blind him to what's really important. No, never him, not Tony Perkins.

"Oink."