LG&M breaks down last night's odd-year election results, and sees turnout and Tip O'Neill's adage of "all politics is local" as determinative. Core Democratic groups such as young people, minorities and low-income people stayed home. The winning candidates ran campaigns better tailored to local concerns. I would not be surprised if the insurgent conservative candidate in NY-23, Doug Hoffman, lost votes due to perceptions that he was an outsider backed largely by outside elements (Sarah Palin, Dick Armey, et al). Upstate New York may be conservative, but not that kind of conservative.

I watched the Obama campaign documentary on HBO last night. I thought that it was kind of uneven. A little too much fawning at times, and not enough of the true behind-the-scenes moments that make The War Room so good. Still, it's worth a watch. What I took from the film is the calm and discipline of Obama's inner circle, especially Axelrod and Plouffe. They are such a contrast to Carville and Stephanopoulos in The War Room. Different campaigns in different times call for different people, I suppose.