With a weakened Republican president and Democrats given a solid chance to win, U.S. labor unions see next year's presidential election as a chance to revive their clout, experts and activists say. Unions have been energized by the 2006 election, which produced a Democratic-controlled Congress, and by the approaching end of the administration of Republican President George W. Bush, who fought their key initiatives as the Iraq war hurt his popularity, experts say. At the 10 million-member AFL-CIO, "There is the greatest level of enthusiasm heading into '08 than I've seen in many, many years," said political director Karen Ackerman.
See "Labor Wielding Clout in U.S. Presidential Race", Reuters, The New York Times, May 21, 2007