Florida GOP grasps for sunny side in losses.(A SECTION)

Byline: CORY REISS WASHINGTON BUREAU

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite of Brooksville surveyed the three Republican seats in Florida that Democrats expected to capture and found a bright side of the GOP defeat on Wednesday morning.

"The good news," she said, "is we only lost two."

Florida Republicans looked for silver linings the morning after Democrats dashed their hopes for House leadership positions and took two of their state seats -- assuming Republican Vern Buchanan hangs onto a tenuous victory in the district vacated by Rep. Katherine Harris in Southwest Florida.

Despite bruises, Republicans began a flurry of political maneuvering, planning and blessing-in-disguise talk.

Especially in a state like Florida, which this election certified as a battleground for 2008, politicians try hard to spot opportunities even in defeat -- or at least to accent what little positive there may be.

Rep. Adam Putnam of …