Actually, they haven’t quite swept – Owens may take New York’s 23rd congressional district. But, never mind – here are the headlines so far:
From MSNBC: “Election ’09 tests do not bode well for Obama” .
CNN asks, “Referendum on Obama?” (Answer – It might as well be).
The New York Times puts it this way: “Republicans Sweep Top Races in Setback For Obama”.
The Washington Post warns: “Contests serve as warning to Democrats: It’s not 2008 anymore” (To Dan Balz’ credit, he suggests that the results are not a referendum on Obama.)
Predictable, yes. Accurate, no.
I’ll be on tomorrow (Wednesday) with a more in-depth analysis of the results, but for now, sit back and enjoy the show. Pay particular interest to how Democrats have decided to spin the turn of events in NY’s 23rd district – that it shows how Republicans are eating their own by forcing moderates out of the party. Compare that to their reaction to when Joe Lieberman lost in the Democratic primary in his last Senate race – then it was a blow for party purity! Republicans, meanwhile, are jumping for joy not just because of the victories, but for the margin of victory and the turnout figures.
Sigh.
In a previous post, you used David Broder and Michael Barone as examples of “journalists.” This is better than The National Media, on some level, because it helps your readers evaluate exactly what you mean.
But…really? Two columnists, one avowedly conservative? To stand in for the Washington press corps?
Ouch, dude.
Olivier – Actually, I presented THREE examples of journalists – one “centrist” (Broder), one more conservative (Barone) and one leaning left (Dionne). All three – including Dionne – accepted the election as referendum on Obama frame. Dionne, differed, however, in arguing that the Democratic governors, particularly Deeds, had erred in not tying themselves even closer to Obama. My argument, of course, is that Dionne misses the point – wrapping oneself in Obama’s mantle was not going to matter in an election that was not a referendum on Obama. In short, all three journalists, regardless of ideology, adopted the wrong frame for understanding this election.