Well, I'm Gonna Find a Home...

Another feeling I'm having, and my wife too. From The Who (Who's Next):

ON WHEELS, see how it feels
Goin' mobile
Keep me movin'...

Simon Townshend, Pete's brother, toured with Roger Daltrey in 2009.

Palin's Endorsements Lay Base for a 2012 Run

At NYT:

If Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor, decides to run for president in 2012, she will now have plenty of help.

In New Hampshire, which holds the first presidential primary in the nation, Ms. Palin can count on the support of its newly elected senator, Kelly Ayotte.

When the presidential campaign moves to South Carolina, the state’s new governor, Nikki Haley, will owe her one.

And out West, Susana Martinez, who will take office as New Mexico’s governor, will be ready to help during a potential general election matchup with President Obama as the two parties battle over the growing number of Hispanic voters in the Southwest.

Ms. Palin was not on any ballot. But the self-described “Mama Grizzly” had plenty at stake on Tuesday night as she sought to bolster her credentials as the Republican Party’s most powerful kingmaker and the voice of the newly empowered Tea Party movement.

Ms. Palin had endorsed dozens of candidates, including ones in some of the highest-profile races.

The result was a mixed record that included some spectacular losses — the Delaware and Nevada Senate races — but plenty of victories that Ms. Palin and her allies have already begun to point to as evidence of her political prowess and her ability to shape and direct the unwieldy frustration that is fueling American politics.

For Ms. Palin and a handful of other Republicans, Wednesday was not only a time to savor victory, but also a time to begin laying the groundwork for a bid to capture their party’s presidential nomination.

RELATED: "Corrupt Media Spins Gov. Palin's endorsements."

This Lonely View...

Thoughts on California coming up a bit later. Meanwhile, "Scar Tissue":

Scar tissue that I wish you saw
Sarcastic mister know it all
Close your eyes and I'll kiss you 'cause
With the birds I'll share

With the birds I'll share
This lonely view
With the birds I'll share
This lonely view

Push me up against the wall
Young Kentucky girl in a push-up bra
Fallin' all over myself
To lick your heart and taste your health 'cause
With the birds I'll share

With the birds (share) I'll share
This lonely view
With the birds (share) I'll share
This lonely view
With the birds (share) I'll share
This lonely view

Blood loss in a bathroom stall
Southern girl with a scarlet drawl
Wave good-bye to ma and pa 'cause
With the birds I'll share

With the birds (share) I'll share
This lonely view
With the birds (share) I'll share
This lonely view

Soft spoken with a broken jaw
Step outside but not to brawl
Autumn's sweet we call it fall
I'll make it to the moon if I have to crawl and

(I'm) With the birds(sharing) I'll share
(this lonely) This lonely view ...

Crushing Progressives

As expected, conservatives crushed the left on Tuesday (and for good reason). The indicators are everywhere: Republicans picked up 60 seats in the House, 6 seats in the Senate, a majority of governorships, and a whopping 680 seats in state legislatures across the country. The headline from this morning's New York Times really captures the scale of victory: "Decisive Gains at State Level Could Give Republicans a Boost for Years."

But in another indicator of just how brutally progressives got slammed Tuesday, it turns out that the far-left Progressive Change Campaign Committee put out a list of 95 progressive Democrats who pledged to back Net Neutrality --- legislation that would regulate Internet providers and perhaps open the door to leftist censorship of competing viewpoints. And while this may be some freaky quirk, every single one of those progressive Dems lost election: "95 Candidates Who Pledged Support For Net Neutrality Lost On Tuesday."

Adam Green is the co-founder of PCCC. Interviewed by MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell at the clip, Green offers the classic leftist talking point claiming the reason Dems got hammered is that they weren't socialist enough. And Red State has a post-election quote from Green making the case for a "bolder" Democrat agenda:

What’s left to say after this wipeout? - Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, says this: “Democrats lost because party leaders never truly fought for popular progressive reforms like the public option and breaking up the big banks, leaving voters uninspired to come to the polls and vote Democratic…. Progressives will be stepping up and insisting that the Democratic Party be bolder, not weaker. We will demand boldness, reward bold leaders, reject ‘leaders’ in name only, and hold Democratic politicians accountable when they don’t fight for popular, progressive change. In short, these next two years, progressives will push Democrats to fight strongly for popular progressive reforms — and save the Democratic Party from its own incredible weakness that savaged Democratic candidates in 2010.”

And again, listen carefully to Green at the clip above. He claims internal PCCC polling in 2009 had 80 percent of Dems, 70 percent of independents, and 50 percent --- that's right, 50 percent --- of conservatives backing the public option. Who knows? Who cares? To rely on some iffy poll sample from over a year ago to bolster the case of an even more progressive Democrat Party in the wake of the most epic electoral repudiation in decades is suicidal. This is all of a piece with the cognitive dissonance that's inflicted leftists since Tuesday. For example, at R.S. McCain, "Democrats in Denial." And George Will, "A Recoil Against Liberalism" (via Memeorandum).

And more of it at Daily Kos, "Rejecting Liberalism":

Ignore the pundits and remember the battles over the issues, including the battles that never happened. The voters didn't reject a liberal agenda because they didn't see a liberal agenda. Many wouldn't know what a liberal agenda looks like, because no one has bothered to show them one.

Hey, keep it up Kos-commies. That'll only pump up GOP chances even more heading into 2012. See, "Progressives Increase Their Power Over Obama."

Picture of the Day, 11-4-10

I picked up the New York Times this morning, at Starbucks, on the way to work. As she was handing back my change, the associate put her finger on President Obama's picture and said: "I like that." And today's a midterm exam day in my American government classes, so we won't analyze the results in class until next week. But I brought the newspaper to remind students of the importance of voting. Nothing sums up Tuesday's Democrat debacle like this:

And right under Obama's picture at the scan is the lead story, "Democrats Outrun by a 2-Year G.O.P. Comeback Plan" (at Memeorandum).

I'll have more that later.

Obama Cult Crashes in Blaze of Creepiness and Confusion

Mark Morford posted a simply pathetic essay this morning at the San Francisco Chronicle. How bad? Think of Frank Rich after a month-long drug-induced binge of Palin Derangement Syndrome, capped off with a smokin' Texas-Sized Tequila Tea-Party Chaser. Morford's piece is all-knowingly titled, "Letter to a Whiny Young Democrat." No need for a quotation (if you've read Frank Rich you've already got a handle on boilerplate left-wing teabag bashing). The eye-roller is that Morford is in no freakin' position to lecture the burnout-dropout youth cohort now copping a large share of the blame for Tuesday's Democrat debacle. No, Morford was one of the biggest Obama worshippers in 2008. He came under intense fire for penning a June 2008 essay literally elevating Barack Obama to God-like status: "Is Obama An Enlightened Being?" Folks may remember it. Morford's the one who popularized Obama as "The Lightworker."

He wasn't alone, by any means. I'm just rolling over here at Morford's hypocrisy (not to mention mendacity, unorginality, and so forth and so on). There's plenty of blame to go around --- the collapse of youth participation, the enthusiasm gap, the backlash against socialism, and Obama's epic failures themselves. But Morford's bogus tutorial to the Coachella Cohort falls freakin' flat. Democrat-Socialists had it coming. Hubris breeds humility, and the bill's come due. Here's another blast from the past, an all-hail comment at my first Pajamas Media essay in October 2008. My head hurts at the extreme creepiness:

2. Truth First

Very soon Barack Obama will be your new President. This is a reality you cannot alter or escape from. It is fact. It is history. It is justice for the world.

Many of you have seen the light and have accepted the truth. And we thank you for your support and aid in electing Barack Obama.

To those who have rejected the truth you have no reason to fear Barack Obama. He is wise and just and he will follow the principals followed by his African forefathers. Barack Obama is the son of Kings and Queens who started human civilization thousands of years ago. Barack Obama remembers his heritage and his obligations to the Truth, Justice and the Future.

Barack Obama understands what is wrong and what needs to be done. Barack Obama has intelligence and vision that has lasted for over a millennium. Barack Obama was born with the appropriate ways of thinking, speaking, and acting and this will inspire you to be liberated for now there is no shackle which can keep you enslaved.

An African Proverb tell us: “Then command the servant, thusly: Make an Elder’s staff causing my son to stand in my place I will instruct him through the speech of the listeners and the counsels of the first of the ancients who listened to the divinities. In so doing troubles will be removed from the people.”

Barck Obama is here now to listen, to instruct and will lead you to your new life.

America will have a new start. A change to right itself. A change to correct its wrongs and address its sins. If you support change that will bring forth social and economic justice, you will stand with Barack Obama. Those who have been denied justice in America will get justice. Those will have been denied opportunity will be given opportunity. Those will falsely imprisoned will be freed. Those who are guilty will be punished. America’s salvation is at hand.

Those who have profited in America will play a role helping others. Justice requires equality and fairness and those who have the means will now be fair and will contribute to equality.

Stand with Barack Obama and you will be honored you for your work, sacrifice, dedication and devotion on behalf of all oppressed peoples.

Stand with Barack Obama and you will be honored and celebrated and remembered in song and praise and by your children.

http://truthfirstnow.blogspot.com/

October 24, 2008 - 10:49 am...

**********

UPDATE: Blazing Catfur links: "Where’s your messiah now?"

Dead Democrat Reelected in Long Beach, and Other Tales From the Crypt of California Politics

I mean no disrepect to Jenny Oropeza, who was well liked in the Long Beach community, but her reelection is a metaphor for the morbid left-wing partisanship in California. Red Dog Report catches the drift: "Zombie Politics: California Elects the Dead":

What Were They Smoking?

It’s been well established that the dead seem to rise up every other November to vote in Chicago.

But now the residents Long Beach have done Windy City one better.

California’s 28th State Senate District has re-elected Democrat Jenny Oropeza…

Who died last month ...

Democrats hold a 20 point voter registration advantage,

But the latest numbers showed that the Deceased Senator was leading by nearly 23 points.

Which means the Zombie politician received bi-partisan support!

Meaning that California is so anti-GOP that they would rather be served by the dead, than elect a living Republican.

But hey, that’s California for ya.

And this is perhaps the vote of the living dead, and just as depressing, "Strength of the Latino Vote is Key Factor in the GOP's Tepid Showing in the State":

In one declarative night, California on Tuesday confirmed its status as a political world unto itself, zigging determinedly Democratic while most of the rest of the country zagged Republican. Voters not only restored the governor's office to Democratic hands, they may have given Democrats a sweep of statewide offices, though uncounted ballots could still shift one race.

Driving much of the success — and distancing the state from the national GOP tide, according to exit polls — was a surge in Latino voters. They made up 22% of the California voter pool, a record tally that mortally wounded many Republicans.

Latinos were more likely than other voters to say it was the governor's race that impelled them to vote, and they sided more than 2 to 1 with Democrat Jerry Brown over Meg Whitman, the Republican whose campaign had been embroiled in a controversy over illegal immigration. Once at the polls, they voted for other Democrats as well.

California Republicans had multiple reasons for head-shaking on Wednesday. For decades, the state party has squabbled over whether success would come more easily to candidates running as conservatives or those who presented a more moderate face to the state's sizeable bloc of independent, centrist voters. This year they tried both. Senate candidate Carly Fiorina ran a firmly conservative race and Whitman took a more moderate road.

Holding their coastal strength, Democrats ran away with their big counties. Brown carried Los Angeles County, home to 25% of the state's voters, by 31 points, giving him almost 60% of his lead. Republican candidates, including Whitman, did better than Democrats in their traditional interior California strongholds. But the strong Republican counties tend to be heavier on acreage than voters.

On Tuesday each hit a double-digit dead end, as Fiorina lost to Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer and Whitman came in a distant second to Brown.

Democratic successes in the midst of 2010's national Republican renaissance marked a sharp turnabout from how the state behaved during the last major Republican year, in 1994. That year, as Republicans took back Congress, they won in California as well, picking up five of seven statewide offices, including the governorship, and adding legislative seats. This time, Democrats picked up a legislative seat despite Republican gains nationally, and were waiting for uncounted ballots to see whether they lost a congressional seat or two.

The difference between then and now rests on the changes in the California electorate. Those changes also explain the gulf that now exists between California and the nation. California in 1994 was more white and proportionately less Democratic than it is today, thus more similar to the country today. Nationally, non-whites made up only 22% of the Tuesday electorate; in California they made up 38%. Latinos nationally represented 8% of the national electorate, just shy of a third of their power in California. The California and national exit polls were conducted by Edison Research for a consortium of news organizations, including television news networks and the Associated Press.

Tellingly, Latinos in California had a far more negative view of the GOP than other voters — almost 3 in 4 had an unfavorable impression, to 22% favorable. Among all California voters the view of Republicans was negative, but at a closer 61% negative and 32% positive. Latinos had a strongly positive view of Democrats, 58% to 37%, whereas all voters were closely split, 49% to 45%.

More at the link.

We need some Marco Rubios in California, and then some: "Minority Republican Candidates Make History On Election Day."

All is not lost, but we have a lot of work to do in the Golden State.

I Just Can't Be Happy Today

A classic from The Damned. Sums up how I've been feeling after the People's Republic of California resisted the national GOP tide. I'll be back to my old self in a few days, and I'm hoping to get some analysis on the California races posted soon:

I Just Can't Be Happy Today
I Just Can't Be Happy Today

A lot of you know there's nothing to smile
There's no feeling fine without being fined
It's a price on your head
No point being sad when justice is red

I Just Can't Be Happy Today
I Just Can't Be Happy Today

They're closing the schools
They're burning the books
The church is in ruins
The priests hang on hooks
The radios on ice
The telly's been banned
The army's in power
The devil commands

Illegal to dance Forbidden to cry
You do what you're told and never ask why
Ignore all those fools
They don't understand we make our own rules

I Just Can't Be Happy Today
I Just Can't Be Happy Today
I Just Can't Be Happy, Just Can't Be Happy, Just Can't Be Happy Today
I Just Can't Be Happy, Just Can't Be Happy, Just Can't Be Happy Today

Money Was No Guarantee of Victory

At WaPo, "Whitman, Fiorina and McMahon: Spending Big, Failing Bigger":

LOS ANGELES - Meg Whitman, Carly Fiorina and Linda McMahon had a lot in common.

All sharp, successful businesswomen who made millions as executives in the private sector, they identified 2010 as an apt historical moment for a Republican candidate with no political experience to break into politics. In pursuit of higher office, each committed considerable resources - more than $200 million combined - to challenge seemingly vulnerable Democrats.

Each risk taker came up far short of her goal.

Whitman, the 54-year-old former chief executive of eBay, burned through more than $140 million of her own money in a colossal loss in the California governor's race to a former governor, Attorney General Jerry Brown. Also in California, Fiorina, 56, the former Hewlett-Packard leader, spent about $7 million of her own funds in a bitter Senate loss to the incumbent, Barbara Boxer. And McMahon, 62, who with her husband built the smackdown empire called World Wrestling Entertainment in Connecticut, spent $50 million in seeking an open Senate seat, losing to Attorney General Richard Blumenthal.

The question isn't so much why three savvy businesswomen threw so much good money after bad in losing ventures to win political office. In a year when voters overwhelmingly registered their dissatisfaction with Democrats and the unemployment-riddled economy, the candidates had every reason to consider the millions a sound investment. Instead, the question is how they failed so resoundingly.

"It's in some ways like a highly underdeveloped country that suddenly strikes oil and they don't know what to do with the money and start spending it unwisely," said Ross Baker, a professor of political science at Rutgers University. Baker said that money is a threshold requirement in politics, "but above a certain amount you don't get a dividend for every extra dollar."

"And when it's your own money, you cast aside some of the restraints and keep spending, to the point where you cast aside certain other aspects of the campaign that might be deficient," he said.

More at the link.

I've already examined Whitman's liablities, and being a shitty candidate is probably just the best way to sum up her debacle. I've said less about Fiorina, although she was bit subdued for me, and I know nothing about McMahon.

A Settling of Accounts with Mr. Perfect

At Der Spiegel:

The Democrats suffered a debacle at the polls in the US on Tuesday -- and President Barack Obama is to blame. Once celebrated as a great communicator, the president has lost touch with the mood in his country. Now, he must re-invent himself. But can he succeed?

On Thursday, US President Barack Obama will be leaving Washington behind. He is embarking on a trip to Asia, including a stop in Indonesia. The flight is a long one -- almost an entire day. But Obama lived for a time in Indonesia as a child, and the feeling of being at home is something the president could use these days.


After the Congressional elections on Tuesday, it is certainly not a feeling he can enjoy in the US. The president can analyze the results all he wants, the dramatic losses his Democrats experienced at the polls and the loss of control of the House of Representatives. But he is unlikely to find a simple answer to the question as to how he should proceed.

To the right he is confronted by the stark hatred of the Tea Party movement. In the political center, voters abandoned Obama in droves. And on the left there are complaints that instead of Mr. Change, Obama has turned into Mr. Weakling. Young voters and African Americans are, of course, still behind Obama, but many of them didn't even bother to cast their ballots on Tuesday.

The debacle, the largest loss of seats for the president's party in more than half a century, isn't just a warning for Obama. It is a demolition. For two years, Obama was allowed to hope that he had managed to capture the heads of American voters in addition to their hearts. In fact, however, he only managed to find his way to their hearts, and only for a short time.

RTWT.

Revved-Up GOP Ponders 2012

At WSJ, "Palin's Viability as Presidential Front-Runner Is Closely Scrutinized; 'Ideas Are Going to Matter'":

A revitalized Republican Party began looking toward the 2012 presidential election with renewed optimism about its prospects but uncertainty about who was best positioned to lead the charge.

Republican Sarah Palin was drawing especially close scrutiny from some in the GOP for signs of her viability as front-runner. Ms. Palin emerged from Tuesday's elections as a champion of the tea party movement that helped spur a Republican wave. But losses Tuesday by Ms. Palin's hand-picked candidates in Nevada and Delaware showed the limits to her powers, while preliminary results in her home state of Alaska showed her favored candidate, Joe Miller, was trailing.

"Sarah Palin is a beloved figure in the Republican Party, but now we shift gears—and, in the party, ideas are going to matter," said Katon Dawson, former chairman of the South Carolina GOP. He said Ms. Palin would "get fully vetted on her service in Alaska."

Ms. Palin's active media presence and endorsements in the midterm campaign have maintained her high profile as a spokeswoman for her party. In a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll in mid-October, Republicans cited her most often as the "most important leader or spokesperson'' for the GOP. Ms. Palin was named by 19% of Republicans in the survey, ahead of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, at 16%, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, at 14%, and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, at 13%.

Independent voters also cited Ms. Palin as the "most important'' GOP leader, but they listed Mr. Romney second most frequently, with Mr. Huckabee a more distant third.

Other potential candidates include Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, South Dakota Sen. John Thune and Rep. Mike Pence (R., Ind.).

Matt Kibbe, president of the conservative tea-party group FreedomWorks, said Wednesday he would add a new name to the list: Florida Sen.-elect Marco Rubio, a 39-year-old Cuban-American who is a tea party hero and could help Republicans expand their reach to Hispanics and younger voters.

"The American people are looking for new blood," he said.

More at the link.

All this sounds serious, but the same assets will count in 2012 as in past races (grassroots support, media exposure and polling, and money --- lots of money, which will be Sarah Palin's key advantage over a number of other challengers for the GOP nomination).

The Boehner Evolution

At WSJ, "House Republicans and the challenge of divided government":

John Boehner is no Newt Gingrich, which suits the current public mood. Americans have had their fill of triumphalism and revolution in a House Speaker. But Barack Obama is also no Bill Clinton, a President with a gift for tactical politics and compromise. And therein lies the drama of the next two years as we return to divided government. We're probably destined more for gridlock than accomplishment, which after the last two years is an accomplishment itself.

***

In his press conference yesterday, Mr. Obama did not sound like someone ideologically chastened by the rout of his fellow Democrats. He said he felt "bad" for so many careers cut short, and that he was thinking about his own role in the defeat. But he rejected the thought that his own policies were to blame, save for the fact that they haven't—yet—produced an economic recovery robust enough to make everything else he did popular. His concessions to defeat, in short, were limited to a reflective personal tone, not substance.

The message we take away is that Mr. Obama will continue to press his "transformative" agenda in any way possible. Even on cap and trade—an issue that West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin literally shot in a TV ad to save his campaign—Mr. Obama said yesterday he would seek other means to accomplish the same goal of taxing carbon. We can only imagine what soon-to-be-jobless Democrats in the Coal Belt and Midwest thought of that one.

Which brings us to Mr. Boehner, who saw the Gingrich train wreck of 1995 up close as part of the leadership. He knows Republicans can't govern from the House, so his challenge will be picking the issues on which he might be able to succeed, or at least frame the agenda for the election of 2012.

This means focusing above all on policies for faster economic growth and job creation. In one sense, this is easier than it sounds: First, stop doing more harm. Merely putting an end to any new taxes or regulation will contribute to business confidence, removing the fear of new higher costs.

The immediate priority is extending the 2001 and 2003 tax rates, which expire on January 1. Democrats are already angling for some classic insider fudge, such as extending lower rates for the middle class permanently but only for a year for upper incomes and dividends. Or perhaps raising rates only on those who make $1 million or more.

The best growth policy and politics is to extend all of the lower rates permanently. Temporary tax cuts don't provide the same assurance for business investment or hiring, and the top marginal rates on income and capital investment are the ones that most affect economic growth.

Conceding the class war argument after picking up 60 or more House seats would also be a terrible signal of political weakness. If Republicans hold firm on tax cuts for everybody, they can force Mr. Obama and Senate Democrats facing re-election in 2012 to oppose an extension for the middle class simply to punish the rich. We think they will fold ...

More at the link.

This Is For All the Lonely People...

Hey, California GOP ... don't give up ...

The 'WTF' Election

Mark Schmitt is only half right at his dismissive essay, "The "F-You Election" (at Memeorandum). It's true that voters gave the Democrat-Socialists the epic middle-fingered salute last night, but not for the reasons Schmitt elaborates:

Tuesday's election, and months of Tea Party and other well-funded rebellions, brought back to power the F-You Boys, the F-You Men, and -- if exit polls confirm a narrowing of the gender gap -- F-You Women as well, exemplified by Sarah Palin's "mama grizzlies." Economic frustration is on the rise, and the results tracked it -- in the Midwest, in the border South, and particularly in the Rocky Mountain West, states like Arizona and Nevada that once believed they were "recession proof" are now enduring unemployment rates well over 10 percent. But there were also F-You Billionaires, like the Koch Brothers, whose principal economic frustration is that their inherited fortunes might be modestly taxed; and the F-You Wall Streeters, who two years ago supported Barack Obama, and whose industry was saved by government bailout, but who now seem to have convinced themselves that they were the passive victims of a hostile takeover.

Based on the survey research of Democratic pollster Stanley Greenberg, the "F-You" bloc is basically a vulgarized iteration of the working-class populist vote that has historically supported efforts such as the Reagan-Democrat electoral coalition and later Ross Perot's "United We Stand" movement that took 20 percent of the vote in 1992. Schmitt excoriates these constituencies because they are the exact opposite of the urban-arugula elites who look down their noses at down-market electoral demographics as modern-day Know-Nothings. Frankly, folks like Schmitt --- and his readers at the socialist American Prospect, and across the progessive fever swamps --- are simply devastated that their big goverment, we-know-what's-good-for-you agenda has been brutally repudiated. Yeah, voters said "F-You," but that after saying "WTF" for the past 18-months, as the Obama administration ran up the largest peacetime budget deficits in American history, while the unemployment rate skyrocketed to 10 percent, and while the Democrat Party passed an enormous and enormously-unpopular healthcare bill that sought to put the U.S. on the path to nationalized medicine.

Schmitt is right that the coalition of voters that ousted the Obama-Socialists is a largely unattached demographic that won't easily translate into long-term partisan gains for the GOP. But we already know that. Schmitt would be better off looking inward to examine why far left-wing progressive government got the boot on Tuesday. It's more likely that --- in coming elections --- the Democrat state-socialist ideology will continue to get the big "F-You" at the polls. And the frustrated working-class electorate will continue to demand good government and economic perfromance, exactly what hasn't been delivered amid the Obama interregnum.

The New Teen Drug Epidemic

Watching Dr. Phil:

Brooke and Tiffany are addicted to heroin and prescription drugs. They live together with their children, two 4-year-olds and a 4-month-old, and often go on drug-finding field trips as a family. A few weeks ago, Tiffany overdosed while the children were in the next room. Dr. Phil meets with the twins’ parents and siblings and is shocked by what he learns.

How's That Leg Tingle Doing Tonight?

I had actually clicked over to this exchange last night while watching the returns . Michele Bachmann's great. In fact, her comment from a couple of years ago on MSNBC is what put her on the national radar (below). I sent money immediately. At the video above Chris Matthews asks Bachmann if she's "in a trance tonight," and she comes back with a shot over the left-field wall and right out of the stadium.

Obama's Post-Election Press Conference — UPDATED!!

More than anything, the election was referendum on U.S. economic performance, and thus Barack Obama's leadership as steward of American prosperity. Election 2012 starts right now. See, "For Obama, Daunting Challenges of 2012 Start at Once."

I'm listening to the press conference at the White House page. I tuned in just a few minutes ago, so the discussion is mostly policy at this point, but he's nevertheless whining about how "dedicated public servants" who supported his ObamaCare train wreck have been sent packing: "We were doing the right thing." I'll update this post later with responses. Also, I have a lot of thoughts on last night's national tidal wave, and I especially have some harsh words for the voters of California. So check back later:

RELATED: Ed Morrissey, "Open Thread: Obama’s Post-Election Presser."

**********

UPDATE: There's a Memeorandum thread now. And see Steve Benen, "HEALTH CARE AND 'THE NEXT TWO YEARS'..." Plus, at ABC News, "President Obama Takes Responsibility for Democrats' Loss, Saying, 'I've Got to Do a Better Job': House Shifts to Republican Control, Dems Cling to Senate Majority."

Allen West Wins Florida's 22nd District

Former New York Representative Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., was often called "black America's Congressman." One of the first two blacks in Congress in the Post-Reconstruction Era, Powell was "a leader in the black community not just in New York, but all across the country."

It's an imperfect analogy (Powell was a Democrat), but my sense is that Lt. Colonel Allen West's election to Congress last night will have implications far beyond Florida's 22nd Congressional District.

Last night's results were bittersweet for Californians, and later I'll have some commentary and analysis on the results from the Left Coast, but Allen West's victory lifts my spirits. He will be a voice for moral clarity and patriotic values in Congress, and he is the most recent affirmation that we live in a color-blind society. More at The Other McCain, "VIDEO: Allen West Victory Speech":

Additional video at The Blaze, "Lt. Colonel Allen West’s Victory Speech: ‘Made My Toes Tingle’." See also the Palm Beach Post, "Congress: Allen West claims victory over incumbent Ron Klein."

RELATED: "Black Republicans Win First Congress Seats Since 2003."

ADDED: From Gateway Pundit, "Rep. Allen West Bashes Obama In First Interview “This Should Not Be About Punishing Enemies or Hand-to-Hand Combat”:

Election Night Bloodbath

Althouse is live-blogging, and what better clip to introduce the evening?

I came home around 4:30pm to meet my wife. We voted and picked up some dinner, and then my little boy at his after school program. The TV is on and I'm on Twitter and William Jacobson's live-event. Something of information overload here and I'm still filtering. I love NYT's headline, "Tea Party Victories Propel Republican Gains in Senate." And Stephen Green tweets, "The midwest, the south -- it's a bloodbath for the #Democrats."

2. Rand Paul's victory speech:

3. I just tweeted: "#Feingold Twitter stream reveals left's agony http://is.gd/gDXGG And see, "Tea Partier Beats Feingold‎."

And still on information overload, but here's a sweetie at the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, "Florida Congress: Democrat incumbents lose." And at WSJ, "Obama Is Dealt a Tough Hand: Depleted Democratic Ranks Forces Him to Choose Between Steering Left or Right."

4. California is toast http://is.gd/gE4wV http://is.gd/gE3ZD

That said, "President Doesn't Watch Midterm Election Train Wreck."

5. I'm not pleased with the People's Republic of California, and there's some deep corruption in Nevada, "Harrah’s Bosses Put Squeeze on Employees to Vote in Pro-Reid Effort."But it's a historic night overall. Signing off here with NYT, "G.O.P. Takes House in Setback to Obama: Democrats Are Positioned to Hold Senate Despite G.O.P. Gains."

Turnout Reports Alarm Democrats: Obama Plans Election Post-Mortem

We're seeing scattered reports around the country of weak Democrat turnout in battleground states. At the Scranton Times Tribune, "Turnout steady, voters cite negative campaigning as Election 2010 theme." And at Ballot Box, "Endangered Democrat: 'Turnout isn't where we need it to be'." And especially, at Washington Wire, "Coons Camp Expresses Turnout Worries" (via Memeorandum).

Turnout is stronger elsewhere around the country. Either way, President Obama, bracing for the worst, is planning a major national address tomorrow. At NYT, "The President Plans a Post-Mortem":

President Obama plans to talk about the results of Tuesday’s elections at a news conference Wednesday afternoon in the East Room of the White House, his staff announced.

Aides said they expected Mr. Obama to call for an end to the division that characterized the campaign and for a renewed focus on bipartisanship to solve the nation’s economic and other problems.

The White House is bracing for a bad night, anticipating an outcome that has virtually every political specialist predicting that the Democrats will lose the House but possibly hang on to the Senate. The White House wants to use the news conference the next day to help Mr. Obama reframe his presidency and signal that he heard what the voters were trying to tell him.

More at the link.

President George W. Bush fired Donald Rumsfeld after the 2006 midterms, and it's not clear that Obama will go that far, although he should and then some.