President Obama Got Almost Everything He Wanted For Christmas

After a tough midterm and a lot grumbling of capitulation when it came to his tax/unemployment extension compromise, the lame duck session of Congress turned out to be fruitful after all. The President delayed his Hawaiian holiday to be rewarded with several wins before we rang in 2011, including the passage of the aforementioned tax deal with Republican leaders, the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" in the military, the ratification of the new START treaty to reduce nuclear arms, funds for 9/11 responders and the long-awaited settlement to black and Native American farmers. Was it perfect? No. But was it a slew of needed wins for the public, for civil and individual rights and for those struggling in this recession? To quote the ever quotable sayer of folksy word salad Sarah Palin, "You betcha!"

A win's a win, dagnabit, and Barack Obama is made of it this December.

More after the jump.

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Who Won What Now?

A Pew study just came out revealing that while most Americans (75 percent) realize that the Republicans won "something" in Congress this fall, they're not quite sure (46 percent) what that something was. Also, only 16 percent know that more than half of the funds used to bail out the banks has been repaid, while only 34 percent knew that the funds were enacted under the Bush Administration. But, you know? I don't blame the public so much for that one. It's not like CNN/FOX/MSNBC/et al are doing a regular "Did Bank of America pay America back yet?" TARP-time story minute on the tee vee. (Pew)

GOP Takes House, Senate Stays Blue

The Republicans are our overlords in the House again! (This time with Tea Party people! Michele Bachmann will now have a whole Army of crazy joining her in the House!) Remember how much fun the GOP were the last time they were in charge! With the Tom DeLay and the thuggery. Good times. But what does a GOP lead Congress mean this time around? Well. It means the House will continue to pass things and the Senate will continue to pass nothing. Sounds like fun. This also means the orange fake-bake guy is the new Nancy Pelosi. Republicans picked up 60 seats in the House, but the Democrats maintain a slim 51 majority, so far, in the Senate. And Harry Reid, of all people, won his reelection over crazy lady Sharron Angle.

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It's Nov. 2!

Who feels like voting? Today is the last (or only day depending on where you live) when you can do it. D.C. has early voting and whatnot, but today's it! No more voting after today. Will the Republicans will take back the House and how big will those gains be if they happen? Don't know! But you bet I'll be talking about it come tomorrow! Same Snob time, same Snob channel!

"We Live Now In Hard Times, Not End Times."

Photo via USA TodayI spent the Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear from my computer as I, with my Seasonal Affective Disorder and general crankiness, could not handle a crowd Saturday. And according to all estimates, it was quite a crowd down at the Mall in Washington, D.C. Estimates say that more than 215,000 people showed up at the two political satirists' gathering, which featured The Roots, Mavis Staples, Sam Waterston reading poetry, Stephen Colbert in fancy outfits and an earnest closing speech by Stewart, addressing the disconnect between reality and the crush of anger and confusion that populates the 24-hour-news cycle.

Watch Stewart's speech after the jump.

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Did Bill Clinton Ask Meek To Step Out Senate Race?

Politico is reporting that former President Bill Clinton tried to convince Democratic Senate candidate Kendrick Meek to step down from his Florida race to create a clearer path for former Florida Governor Charlie Crist. A former Republican, Crist is currently running as an Independent. According to the story, Clinton was able to convince Meek to step down, but that the candidate later changed his mind. Meek's camp claims there was never a deal on the table for him to step down. Either way, having this news break has to be devastating for Meek's campaign. He is currently running third in the race.

More after the jump.

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GOP Is The New Black Is Only Mildly Insulting

Some Raging Elephants in Houston, TX want your vote! Yeah, they're going to slightly bug you in their efforts, but look at how trendy and upwardly mobile those models look on that poster! I know when I vote for candidates it's based on the keen abilities of their publicity teams at pulling only the best stock images from Getty.

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President Obama Takes It Serious On The Daily Show

President Obama went on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart last night to talk the Midterms, his past two years in office, unemployment, health care reform and his record. Obama, no shock here, was all about business. The audience, no shock here, was warm and excited. And Stewart, also no shock here, (without the jokes) was good interviewer. It always amazes me that a comedy news guy who I could barely remember from almost every other comedy flick in the 90s (he was in "Half Baked" and "Big Daddy" and I don't remember him in either) turned out to be one of the best media interrogators on television. I'm pretty sure he's amazed by that too.

Video clip after the jump.

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Rand Paul Supporters: Overreacting, Woman Stomping

Midterms are upon us! While most people are able to express themselves without pushing women to the ground and stomping them, Rand Paul supporters in Kentucky decided it would be cool beans to wrestle a MoveOn.org volunteer to the ground when she was, you know, just kind of there, doing things you do at political rallies. (In her case, hold up a jokey sign and try to give Paul an "award" for being a corporate shill.)

For most folks this is a minor annoyance and you shrug it off. Not Rand Paul supporters! IT'S CLOBBERIN' TIME!

More after the jump.

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