My first big election when I first got interested in politics was the 1990 race for governor in Michigan. John Engler had just defeated incumbent Jim Blanchard and, in an attempt to keep up my spirits, tried to convince myself that there was not much of a different between the two. One of my first pals in my early career was a longtime staffer named Jim who worked for a Democratic State Senator (these were the days before term limits). So anyway, a few days after the election, I sat around a table with Jim and the senator and wistfully said "well, we should be okay, there doesn't seem to be much difference between the two, is there?" The senator leaned into the table and said "oh yes there is!" I got nervous.

If there is one "Clinton retread" I totally approve of, it's this guy! The Washington Post reports that Clinton FEMA Director James Lee Witt may be returning to his old job.

Looking for signs that our new president has "got this"? Marc Ambinder reports that, after only one week since Election Day, observors are already in awe of the Obama trasnition in progress.

Now is the point at which, if I were and RNC donor, I might be getting annoyed with Sarah Palin.

According to John McCain, Sarah Palin, Joe Liebermann, the Neocons and Joe the Plumber, the election of Barack Obama was supposed to "embolden our enemies", epsecially Iran. Well, according to the Jerusalem Post, it ain't really working out that way.

It remains to be seen whether Barack Obama had true coattails or whether the smashing Democratic successes up and down the ballot were a sign of the times, but there is one very dramatic difference between 2008 and 1992, and that is the success of Democratic candidates everywhere.

I remember watching the 1992 elections with some disappointment. As Bill Clitnon was being elected with a huge electoral vote landslide, we lost about 10 seats in the House and made no gains whatsoever in the senate. Dianne Feinstein and Russ Feingold beat out two incumbents, but Democrats Terry Sanford and Wyche Fowler went down to defeat in North Carolina and Georgia. We allso failed to unseat Al D'Amato in what was the marquee senate matchup that year. In Michigan, we actually LOST the State House. In 1996, we gained seats in the House but actually lost seats in the senate.

The good news keeps rolling in. The West got even bluer this afternoon.

When Governor Sarah Palin was selected by John McCain to be his running mate, the progressive blogosphere ran yellow with fear as prominent progressive bloggers and diarists learned about the selection. "Game changer" was the widely used term. When she delivered her venomous, hateful convention speech, some even said she was at least an equal to Hillary Clinton. PUMA's like Geraldine Ferraro rushed in to announce the immenent doom of the Obama campaign. There were wobbly knees everywhere.