Well, I have picked myself up, dusted myself off, had my girlfriend lick my wounds and am ready to respond to The King. While I don't disagree with him in regards to the depth of the Republican victory, I do disagree with the long term results. To wit:

I believe that the reason GW won was because the Evangelical Right was energized and voted. They delivered the election to GW and to a number of the new GOP Senators. There is a debt to be paid by GW and the GOP. History shows us that politics in this country is a continual swing of the pendulum. My fearless forecast is that as the GOP repays the Christian Right, there will be an increasing pendulum swing to the left. As these things go, it will not be dramatic and it may only be visible in hindsight. But it will happen, the question is when. The 2006 midterms are probably too soon, the 2008 election certainly is a viable candidate, but by 2010, I think we see the beginning of a "liberal decade".

I am proud of my State. Although Rossi is/was a viable candidate (the only viable candidate from the GOP in 12 yrs. IMHO), I think he will go down to defeat as the absentees get counted. My prediction, about a 20,000 vote win for Gregoire. George Nethercutt ran an abysmal campaign and ran several % pts. behind both Bush and Rossi. That should not have happened, but there you go. It looks like the Dems have solidified their hold on the State Houses. So, while The King is correct that, on balance, the GOP did quite well, and the right wing of the GOP was the star of the show - reports of the Left being smashed may be premature.