Notwithstanding Republican victories in the N.J. and Virginia governor's races, let's not forget that a lower percentage of Americans now self-identify as Republicans than at any other time in a quarter-century.
It was not surprising to learn that New Jersey and Virginia both elected Republican Governors. But I could not have predicted the loss in the tiny, liberal, free state of Maine.
Doug Hoffman lost his election last night in NY-23. He was supported by a plurality of talk radio entertainers, and a majority of former half-term governors of Alaska -- just not voters who actually live there.
What can we expect from a President who presides over a relatively conservative public, whose party is fractured by a fundamental contradiction, and whose legislative agenda is held hostage by Ben Nelson?
The euphoria of last November has turned to disappointment for many of those who celebrated so raucously on campus. This is no longer the time for dancing, but it is the time to work for progressive change.
The first U.S. government official to formally resign his post because of objections to America's course in Afghanistan makes a compelling case that America has lost its strategic sensibilities in this war.
Yesterday's vote on same-sex marriage in Maine was a referendum on our collective humanity, and we don't look so great today. But was it a loss for Obama? Certainly not.
For a normal mortal, Michael Bloomberg's 5-point mayoral win would be a healthy victory. For him, it looks like a desperate scraping of the barrel.
How did a Republican like Christie win in New Jersey? By being the least unpopular.
It is the fundamental failure to make the economy the central issue of this Presidency that has left the door open for the Republicans. It is also a door that it easily closed next year by the President and his team.
If Obama wants to make sure he doesn't let down the millions who believed he really would change the system, he should read the The Audacity to Win -- and rediscover a whole host of things he knows, but seems to have forgotten.
Arianna has written much that I agree with. But when it comes to her suggestion that there is some great difference between President Obama and Candidate Obama, I have to register the strongest possible dissent.
As I was leaving an IDP camp, a man said to me, "Please don't let us die in this horrible place. Please tell the people in America what is happening here." I promised myself I would.
The most idiotic thing being said about America's involvement in Afghanistan is that the best way to protect the 68,000 U.S. troops there now is by putting an additional 40,000 in harm's way.
Coming off the election, the president had enormous political capital (really a blank check to move forward with anything he campaigned for), and I can't help thinking that he didn't make enough use of it.
While we can't decisively compare outcomes of choices that were made to alternative choices, we can ask why certain decisions haven't even been tackled.
If Obama had really charged in there riding the forceful energy of the historic election, there really could have been an historic "first hundred days." Instead of what happened, which is the Obamas got a dog.
Considering what he inherited, and the accomplishments he has made regarding America's image and extension of soft power abroad, Obama's first year cannot be said to have lacked audacity.
Obama seems to be deliberately moving his party rightward in order to capture the political spectrum from center/right to left. He wants to become the Tony Blair of American politics.
