Michael Barone: "First, in the governor elections in Virginia and New Jersey, the Democratic candidate ran far behind Barack Obama’s percentages in 2008 and the Republican candidates ran ahead of George W. Bush’s percentages in 2004."

"The 2009 election results are certainly not going to make it easy for Speaker Nancy Pelosi to round up the needed 218 votes for Democrats’ health care bills."

Election reactions

Glenn Reynolds: Obama has lost his magic.

The truth is, Obama wasn’t ready to be president when he ran in 2008. When he started, he probably thought he had no real chance — he himself admitted upon entering the Senate that he wasn’t qualified to be president — and that his first run would simply be a PR effort that would lift him to the top ranks of Senate Democrats.

Betsy's Page: "Toto, I don't think we're in 2008 anymore."

Everybody who is interested in politics will be watching the elections in New Jersey and Virginia tomorrow for whatever they might mean.

William Kristol
Mike Flynn 
AP