TOUGH TO LOSE WITH 70%:

The G.O.P. Stalinists Invade Upstate New York (FRANK RICH, 10/31/09, NY Times)

BARACK OBAMA’S most devilish political move since the 2008 campaign was to appoint a Republican congressman from upstate New York as secretary of the Army. This week’s election to fill that vacant seat has set off nothing less than a riotous and bloody national G.O.P. civil war. No matter what the results in that race on Tuesday, the Republicans are the sure losers.

The GOP ran a moderate because the race was supposed to be competitive, but the late polling shows the Democrat under 30%. They underestimated the degree to which power has destroyed the Democrats' electability. That's tough to spin into a GOP loss.

Posted by Orrin Judd at October 31, 2009 4:17 PM