Adroit Prediction [Jonah Goldberg]

From a reader:

Jonah-

Now that the Democrats are in power, and thus able to be the objects of ridicule, I am absolutely certain that within six months, we will begin seeing articles declaring that The Daily Show has "lost its edge" and "jumped the shark." Bonus points for calling Jon Stewart a Republican shill. 

Me: I think this is quite sharp and probably right. On the other hand, the other fear — often expressed — is that Stewart takes his Prophet of the Lefty Bloggers role too seriously and will not in fact give equal time to the Dems. As a fan of Stewart's I'm hoping  that's not the case. But I can certainly understand the concern given his routine of late. 

Another Brilliant Viera Quote [Kathryn Jean Lopez]:

While doing a K-Mart spot about fashion. "I didn't know K-Mart carried clothes."

 

Another Prediction [Jonah Goldberg]

From a reader:

Jonah,

 

Here is a prediction for next year...

 

In January or February, the New York Times will run a headline: "Economy Turning Around Under Democratic Leadership." The subtitle will be "Dow Hits New Record High". The story will interview a few citizens on the street who will claim they have more money to spend, and an obscure economist that will point out how the gap between the rich and poor is now closing.

 

Sigh.

Grief Counseling? [John Podhoretz]

I feel strangely exhilarated by the results last night. I think we're seeing a major shift in the way things are going to work on Capitol Hill from here on out. Democrats ruled for 40 years in the House before the GOP came in. The GOP had 12 years. My guess is that Democrats may have two, or four, or six years at the most before power changes hands again — and the GOP will have the same before Dems get it. This is the healthiest possible development for our political system. Chairmen will not get too comfortable. Lobbyists won't quite know whom to suck up to. The treatment of the minority party as a political pariah with no power will begin to alter itself once House leaders in the majority begin to feel they will be back in the minority one day. It could be a new and more fluid era, and that's all to the good.

Reagan leads by whopping margin.  Look, I love Reagan, more so now from the distance of history, but George Washington is by far the most influential, simply because he led our army during the Revolution, and more importantly, established the model of the President as Chief Executive and not a king-like figure, and surrendered power when he easily could have held it for much longer, if not for life. In his time, this was a truly revolutionary idea.

Go here to cast your ballot. The Atlantic's 100 most influential Americans

(By the way, one of the great tragedies of the Iraq War was the death of Michael Kelly.  Kelly was an old school, urban ethnic Democrat, and editor of The Atlantic at the time of his death.  He changed it from a standard left wing rag to a thoughtful journal of opinion that highlighted the challenges of the Left and the Right.  Sadly, it reverted to its previous incarnation after Kelly's death.  I declined to renew my subscrition about a year after Kelly died for this reason...it's just not interesting anymore.)

English [Kathryn Jean Lopez]

Jim Boulet reports:

Arizona passed Prop. 103, English as the state's official language, 74%-26%.

MCRI Victory [Stanley Kurtz]

The victory of the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative (MCRI) (the ballot initiative banning race, "gender," and ethnic preferences) is the sleeper story of this election. This is a major national issue that’s been effectively off the table for three-and-a-half years, since the Supreme Court’s decision in the Michigan case. Now so-called affirmative action is back in play–not only as the subject of voter initiatives, but judicially as well.

 

It appears to have passed with about 58 or 59 percent of the vote. That's huge, especially considering what it went up against: United Democrat and Republican opposition, united Big Labor and Big Business hostility, and a "vote no" campaign that was far better funded. Here's how Evans-Novak handicapped the race earlier this week:

Michigan-Proposal 2: This initiative, which would ban race-based preferences from state programs, will fail by a large margin. If voter turnout in Detroit is seriously depressed, it could narrowly fail. Likely Fail.

 

Diebold! [John Podhoretz]

 They stole the election for the Democrats! Posted at 12:24 AM

 

Second-Day Non-Story [John J. Miller]

Something tells me that news editors will ice all the voter fraud stories they had reporters working on. I can hear the anchors now: "The machines worked better than expected!" "Despite concerns, there were no major irregularities." Etc.

Posted at 7:31 AM

The Most Relieved Person in America Today... [John Podhoretz]

...is John Kerry.

Posted at 6:20 AM