"Proclaiming that 'the future of our party has, never been brighter,' Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe predicted Monday that the coming year will he characterized by Democratic electoral victory - including in the Nov. 6 races, for Virginia's statewide offices.

McAuliffe, speaking at the University of Virginia's Newcomb Hall theater, spent over an hour rallying an audience of about 100 almost entirely student Democrats. In his speech, McAuliffe enumerated the party's recent gains in Congress, disputed the outcome of the 2000 presidential election and said that most Americans embrace a Democratic agenda.

'We are about to make history in this country,' McAuliffe said, predicting a new era of Democratic domination on the local, state and national scene, culminating in 2004 when 'we show George Bush the door and we take back the White House that we rightly won.'

McAuliffe said he is buoyed by recent polls showing Democratic candidates Mark R. Warner and Timothy M. Kaine ahead in the races for governor and lieutenant governor, with A. Donald McEachin trailing by just a few points in the race for attorney general.

'Folks, we are going to sweep these elections,' McAuliffe said, calling the Virginia contests 'the biggest races we have' this year.

The chairman, however, also had criticism for his party, saying that it has concentrated too much on electing presidents in, the past and not done enough to reach grass-roots voters. Democrats must become more organized if they are to win, McAuliffe said, citing voting conditions in Florida that he said cost Al Gore the presidency in 2000 and must not be allowed to exist in the future.

'Folks, it's voter suppression, it's voter intimidation, and it goes on every day,' McAuliffe said. 'We got you to the polls and we stopped. We didn't go inside.'

McAuliffe sounded a bipartisan tone when discussing Bush's response to the attacks on New York and Washington. 'We support the president 100 percent as he fights terrorism all around the world,' he said.

But he had harsh words for congressional Republicans, who he said 'are taking the opportunity to push an inappropriate tax cut that benefits corporations rather than average Americans.

'There were 1.2 million people who lost their jobs before Sept. 11,' McAuliffe said, saying the economic stimulus package up for the Senate's consideration was distorted by Republicans who 'tried to take advantage of Sept. 11 to push their own partisan agenda.'

McAuliffe predicted that the American economy will be in recession for years, but said the Democratic response will resonate with voters.

'We'll keep (our message] to the issues that benefit everybody, across this country,' McAuliffe pledged. 'We're right on the issues.'" (Austin Graham, The Daily Progress, October 31, 2001).