The challenge for the Democrats however is in turning the Iraq war into a divisive issue and neutralizing the strong claims of being tougher on terrorism that the Republicans have honed into a strong advantage. Vice President Dick Cheney speaks of the terrorists gaining control of a Middle Eastern nation and eventually conquering smaller nations until a terrorist regime spreads from Spain to Indonesia. Both Vice President Cheney and President Bush have successfully communicated the urgency and depth of terrorist threats to the U.S., and to the extent this message permeates the American voters' priorities has a direct bearing on the success or failure of their political party on November 7th at the polls. In a separate New York Times/CBS News Poll (2006) the majority of respondents (77%) including Republicans (65%) say that it's time for a major change in the composition of both houses of Congress. This is shocking given the high percentage of Republicans in the sample. This poll has fascinating data on how voters intermediate their views...

it's just as fascinating to also read the time series of day from the Gallup/USA Today Polls (2006) and see the trending of the American public opinion on the topics of the war on terror, it's containment, the war in Iraq, and the President's approval rating over time.
References

The uses of scare talk (2006) - the Economist Magazine. 21 September 2006. Economist Editorial Staff. Accessed from the Internet on September 25, 2006:

http://www.economist.com/world/na/displaystory.cfm?story_id=7946091

Gallup/USA Today Polls (2006) - a time series of all polls completed by both organizations. Accessed from the Internet on September 25, 2006:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/polls/tables/live/2006-08-21-poll.htm

New York Times/CBS News Poll (2006) - the International Herald Tribute. September 21, 2006. Accessed from the Internet on September 25, 2006:

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/09/21/news/poll.php