>>>So while GOP candidates won a lot of races, GOP ideas lost a bunch.
>>>
>>I just followed a few close races.
>>In those the better candidate - regardless of party- won handily.
>>From the senate races, the message I took away is that the repubs did a better job of selecting candidates than they have previously.
>
>That last is absolutely true. No "I'm not a witch" candidates, no "legitimate rape" candidates, etc.
>
>FWIW, heard a couple of interesting things yesterday. First, since WWII, every president who has had a Senate majority to lose in his year 6 midterm has lost it. Second, going back to FDR, average 6th year losses for the president's party are about 30 in the House (thought I heard 45 yesterday, but I don't know what time frame that was for) and 5.5 in the Senate. In the results I can find so far, looks like the Republicans are up 10 in the house, with a dozen or so still to be decided.
>
>Not surprising that in the Senate, the 6th year is particularly bad for the president's party, since that's when the folks elected along with his first victory come up.
>
>Tamar

Yes, the "I'm not a witch" people were a gift that unfortunately stopped giving.
They're still out there, though, based on what I read about what is said on talk radio and Fox news.

It's comforting to find parallels in history, but we can't avoid the inescapable conclusion that Obama - as much as I agree with 95% of his policy positions- has been a weak political leader.
I'm not sure that there was a political leader who could have done a better job than he did, but that doesn't change the fact that he failed on his basic "there are no blue states or red states.. just the United States" promise to unite the country.
If anything, it seems to be more divided now than it was when he took office.
Yes, there were and still are huge forces opposing him- but that's why we call great political leaders great.. they overcome huge obstacles - and they change historical patterns rather than repeating them.