SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:55 P.M. ET:

MAJOR POLITICAL NEWS – In an event that could change world history, Sandra Fluke, the Ms. Birth Control of Georgetown University, has been defeated in her bid for a California State Senate seat.  You'll recall that Ms. Fluke, who is particularly obnoxious, became a major figure in the Democratic Party when she demanded birth-control coverage for college and graduate students.  It turned out that the $1,000 a year she was paying for the magic pills was almost three times more than the going rate at her neighborhood drugstores.  We don't know what future plans Ms. Fluke has. 

WAR ON WOMEN? – If there's one campaign slogan that flopped completely this year, it was the Dem claim that Republicans are waging a "war on women."  In fact, the gender gap narrowed considerably.  Exit polls show that that Dems won the women's vote by only five points, compared to the double-digit spreads we usually see.  Maybe women are on to the fact that the Democratic Party actually does very little for them.  If the gender gap is this narrow in 2016, the GOP has a good chance of electing a president.

VIRGINIA – The close Senate race in Virginia still has not been decided.  While most experienced observers feel that Democratic incumbent Mark Warner will pull it out, in the face of a surprisingly strong challenge by Republican Ed Gillespie, the two candidates are only one point apart.  It was supposed to be an easy Warner victory.  Here's a case where a third-party candidate may have done some real damage.  Libertarian Robert Sarvis has 2.45% of the vote.  Most of his votes would probably have gone to Gillespie. Counting is still going on.

FOXY – Fox News won election night in terms of TV viewership of the returns, but all television election viewership was down from previous years.  Interest level in the midterms was not as high as we'd thought, maybe as a result of general dismay with the state of American politics.

November 5, 2014