Nov 6, 2009
Week of November 2, 2009
Larry Sabato
In retrospect, NY-23 was almost comical--another fine mess created by local and national GOP"leaders." And the results are plain for all to see. Republicans are now down to two, count 'em, two U.S. House seats out of 29 in New York state. In the mid-90s, they had 13 House seats--plus a U.S. senator and the governorship. Some compromise candidate in NY-23 would have delivered a victory to the GOP, instead of a defeat--the loss of a seat they have held since the early 1870s--that spoiled their otherwise good showing last night. I doubt these circumstances will be repeated quite as widely in 2010 as some think. Still, there are dozens of senior Republicans who have omelet, not just egg, on their faces over this debacle.
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[David] Plouffe's book arrives at a crossroads moment for the administration -- exactly one year after the election, and one year before the 2010 midterms. A lot has happened in that year, as the audacity of winning has given way to the timidity of governing.
Unfortunately, in Washington terms, what's happened in Afghanistan is not the definition of failure. In the economic lingo of the moment, the war now falls into the category of"too big to fail," which means upping the ante or doubling down the bet. Think of the Afghan War, in other words, as the AIG of American foreign policy.