2009 Election Results Tempest in Tea Cup

Republicans have elected governors in Virginia and New Jersey, which means pundits will be claiming (or these days more likely screaming) that President Obama and his policies have been rejected. Well, let's not be so quick to kick a man who is a long way from being knocked down to the ground.

First, despite a few heavily contested and extremely costly races voter turnout was low, as is usually the case for off year state and local elections. Second, Virginia and New Jersey voters have their own quirks that do not necessarily translate into national political trends.

In Virginia, the winner, Robert McDonnell, was from Northern Virginia, the state's wealthiest and most populous area. Challenger Creigh Deeds was from a rural part of the state, lacked statewide name recognition, and was at a clear fundraising disadvantage from the beginning.

In New Jersey, Gov. Jon Corzine was viewed by many as a cold fish, has stonewalled the media regarding his former romantic and financial relationship with a powerful female labor union leader, and floated some notably stupid ideas (e.g., increasing NJ Turnpike and Garden State Parkway highway tolls by several hundred percent in coming years) that called into question his political savvy and personal sanity.

As this is written, the hotly contested Congressional race in New York's 23rd Congressional District was still up in the air. Again, too much is likely to be read into that outcome when the dust settles.

The only political poll that matters on the success or failure of the current administration's economic recovery initiatives will be taken in November 2010. So let's chill for a bit and do what we can to help our families, friends, and neighbors through the current economic crisis.