Terence Samuel serves this up in The American Prospect:

In a sharp contrast with how they reacted to the close election loss of 2000, Democrats seem more ready than ever for a fight with President George W. Bush and his expanded GOP majorities on Capitol Hill. It may be that they’re just putting on a brave face, because the fact is that the string of losses this past Election Day was mush more devastating than 2000. The Democratic response to the 2000 Florida debacle was appeasement. Fearful that they would be branded as sore losers, Democrats all over, and on the Hill in particular, imposed a unilateral truce. They chose not to criticize the president or question his legitimacy, then stood “shoulder to shoulder” with him after September 11.

The self-pitying, depressive mood lasted two years. Then they got Bushwhacked in the 2002 midterms. Then Howard Dean showed up and expressed the joy of showing one's rage. But Bush cleaned their clocks so decisively last week that is seems Democrats have relinquished the usual pity party thrown after a big election loss. While most are still walking around stunned and a little depressed, they seem ready to fight.

[...]

[House Democratic Leader Nancy] Pelosi and her team plotted strategy this week and announced plans that they will hold the Bush administration accountable. It's a polite way of saying that they’re on the attack. Democratic leadership in the Senate has gone from soft-spoken Daschle to even more soft-spoken Harry Reid, who presents a tougher target for the Republicans. He is pro-life and was just reelected to a fourth term with 61 percent of the vote.

I'm not sure how successful the Democrats will actually be in holding the Republicans responsible for the messes they created (Iraq, the deficit, etc.), but it is nevertheless important that they try. As I've written before, Democratic victory in the future will all come down to five words:

Government accountability and fiscal responsibility