Intelligence Preparation of the Battlespace

by Smitty

No, the title is not original with me. But my, my, the pointy headed operatives are out in force: "Five things the Virginia election results don't mean". Look at this bit of mental gymnastics:

Tuesday's three-way Virginia primary – between Creigh Deeds, Terry McAuliffe and Brian Moran – and the general election to follow may not wind up saying much about anything except the specific candidates and issues involved. The same probably goes for New Jersey, where incumbent Democrat Jon Corzine trails Republican challenger Chris Christie in early polling. "Governors' races are about local personalities or local fucking road issues," one Democratic operative grumbled, on condition of anonymity so as not to contradict, in advance, the spin the party is guaranteed to be putting out in November if Virginia and New Jersey go blue.

So this jaded person doesn't really care, but intends to feign excitement on cue if we get another dose of Dem?
The article does conclude on an interesting note:

In private, Democrats concede that they are happy to see Republicans claiming the GOP comeback will begin this fall, but mostly because that provides a handy narrative if it doesn't. Republicans said more or less the same thing. "I expect that both parties have more than enough evidence to make the case that these state contests don’t have much bearing on national trends," said GOP strategist Kevin Madden. "But both parties also realize that the Washington media will take a magnifying glass to these contests and force a national assessment of the prospects of the Democrat and Republican parties as we head into 2010 mid-terms. Neither party likes it, and the party that wins may not entirely believe it, but both parties prepare for it."

It's pretty much do or die time for Conservatives. The GOP's continued treatment of politics as some sporting event plays to the Left's hand. The electorate is reduced to cheering for a team, instead of being "We the People".
Would that there was instead a focus on the Constitution, long-term questions like the debt, and a de-emphasis on personalities and toenails.
If the Tea Parties falter, if the gubernatorial races don't build momentum for the midterms, then we just need to switch concerns from toenails Nine Inch Nails: