Election Afterthoughts

Just for the fun of it. 

I'm at impressed how underwhelmed people seem about the election.   Democrats knew it was coming for months.  They're relieved to have it over; now they can move on.

Big winner: Mario Rubio.  He emerges as, at once, the Republican Barack Obama and the thinking man's Sarah Palin.  We haven't heard the last of that guy.

Biggest loser: Sarah Pallin.  Really.  Obama took a shellacking but he's still there.  Sarah--nobody really seems to be noticing--didn't do all that well.  Granted Republicans got 66 House seats, but it is not at all clear that she tipped the balance in any one of them.   She "endorsed" some but even in this route, her endorsements often came late in the game when it was already clear that the endorsee were going to win.  Meanwhile fully a third of her House endorsements fizzled.  And perhaps most important, she probably bears the blame from Sharron Angle, Christine O'Donnell and   Ken Buck--oh, and of course her homey Joe Miller.  Which is to say, it is Sarah's fault they don't have the Senate.  Clearly there are a lot of Republican insiders who loathe her and who are looking for any ammo with which to discredit her; she has provided a lot.

Biggest goat: Rahm Emanuel.  He might not have made an iota of difference, but he did nothing, absolutely nothing, for himself that couldn't have waited until after election day.  Meanwhile, he's given everybody an excuse to say "where were you when we needed you?"

Biggest puzzle to me: the auto bailout and the Midwest.  Remember, I wasn't for any auto bailout; I figured we should just let them go.  Okay, we kinda did, but not quite.  I consoled myself with the notion that they did it to get votes in the rustbelt.  And as Sarah would say, how's that workin' for ya?