by Jonah Goldberg
It's all so terribly sad.
To listen to liberals and the White House spin election results, you'd
think all was well with the world. Barack Obama is still personally
popular! The evil right-wing extremists lost in New York's 23rd
congressional district and a Democrat (who was arguably more
conservative than the Republican nominee) won. Virginia was always a
red state (no matter what we all said about it turning blue with
Obama's victory), and the election hinged on local issues. Defeated New
Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine was personally unpopular (let's all forget that
the White House tried to turn the race into a referendum on Obama's
agenda).
In short, the White House spin is: "There's nothing to see here, folks. All is well."
By now, those interested in such things have already heard the rebuttal
to these desperate talking points. And there's no need to rehearse them
again.
In fact, what is sad is not the spin war. This happens after
every election. The partisans and pundits race for the election results
like kids charging the disgorged contents of a piñata, claiming
convenient facts like candy and shouting "mine!" It's always an
unseemly process.
No, what's sad is how far Obama's defenders have had to move the goalposts just to keep up their morale.
http://townhall.com/columnists/JonahGoldberg/2009/11/06/the_end_of_an_era_that_never_began