COEUR d'ALENE - U.S. Sen. Jim Risch is almost feeling optimistic.

Always animated, Risch said Wednesday that for the first time in two years, he's feeling a little bit upbeat. Two years ago, the vocal Republican thought he would have a front row seat from his Washington, D.C., office to watch the country collapse.

That didn't happen, Risch said during an editorial board stopover at The Press before heading out to the North Idaho Fair and Rodeo. And he's optimistic the Republican surge from the 2010 election will continue into 2012.

He handicapped the GOP presidential race and has two finalists, but first, he wanted to give credit to those he felt were responsible for the change at the polls between 2008 to 2010.

"You got to credit the Tea Party for this," Risch said. "They get maligned, badly. And yes, they get out on the edge sometimes. But if it wasn't for the Tea Party, we would not be where we are right now as far as turning the dialogue around in Washington, D.C."

That dialogue is focused on, among other things, national deficit reduction.

No, other panels haven't achieved bipartisan agreements to knock down spending with which both sides can be satisfied. But this time around, the so-called "Dirty Dozen" will have a better shot at getting it done, Risch said.

Time is running short, and with a recently adopted bill triggering $2 trillion in cuts, namely defense and social program spending, if the sides can't agree, urgency is much more in focus this time around.

"It's really easy to be cynical and pessimistic about it because they haven't been able to get the job done," he said. "But the crisis that I've described, in my judgment, is much more front burner than what it was.

"It's going to be very painful," he added. "So yeah, I think there is some hope that they'll come up with, if not a full solution, a partial solution."

Risch is co-chair of presidential candidate Mitt Romney's campaign in Idaho, traveling with and fundraising for the Republican heavyweight recently. He calls the former Massachusetts governor "the real deal" who would make a better president than campaigner.

"I have real confidence in Mitt Romney," he said. "Can he get elected? That remains to be seen."

The other frontrunner for the GOP ticket is Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Risch said. Romney and Perry have built campaign war chests, while other contenders, including Michelle Bachmann of Minnesota, will fall out because of the lack of funds, he said.

Meanwhile, Risch is co-authoring a bill that would require the Environmental Protection Agency to fund improvements it mandates on cities and counties who operate sewer and water plants.

EPA standards have been rising since it began measuring discharge and other particles by parts per billion instead of parts per million. Risch said the bill has a long way to go, but would send a message to the department that they are financially crippling municipalities with their tighter requirements.

And almost optimistic means exactly that - almost.

Asked how he was doing at the start of the editorial board meeting, Risch said: "I'm doing good. Our country is a mess, but I'm all right."

And whether his optimism pays off in the 2012 election, he can't say for sure.

"That remains to be seen. That's up to the American people," he said. "(But) the American people are angry, they are upset and angry, from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, to New York City ... Change is in the wind. I say change is in the wind."