WASHINGTON — Republican National Committee Chairman Robert Duncan is certainly an upbeat person. While most observers think that the Bush administration has had its problems, and that as a result Republicans face uphill election battles this year, he disputes both contentions.

As a breakfast with reporters, Duncan, a mild-mannered Kentucky native, says a combination of the Republican philosophy of low taxes and small government, GOP tactical expertise in getting out the vote, and flaws in the Democratic presidential candidates will help his party in the November election.

Hillary Clinton is “a lifelong politician with some baggage” and is someone most people don’t trust, he said. Barack Obama is open to questions of whether he’s prepared to be commander in chief or whether he’s accomplished much.

Duncan, whose grandfather was an officer in a miner worker’s union, even says he’s confident that lots of union members will disregard their leaders and vote for the Republican. “The union vote is not a monolithic vote,” he said.

The one mistake Duncan acknowledges over the past eight years is that Republicans in Congress overspent, but he adds that President George W. Bush has helped reduce that the past year.

Reporters asked Duncan whether standard Republican fare will work in the face of public concern over Iraq, a looming recession, the Katrina disaster and huge deficits. He said it will, because the elections for president and Congress will come down to individual races between a Republican and a Democrat, and most people will prefer the Republican’s philosophy.