The Mystery of the 'Gore Curse'

For GOPs, Close = Lose? Am I crazy to think that close elections—the ones that are separated by a mere hundreds of votes, that go into overtime and threatened recounts well past Election Eve—almost always are won by the Democrat these days? Let's go to the Web! Here are the last eight election-related "breaking news" alerts I've received from Politico:

1. Republican Keith Fimian has conceded to Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly in Virginia’s 11th District.

2. Washington Democratic Rep. Rick Larsen has defeated Republican John Koster, the AP reports. 

3. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) has won reelection over Republican challenger Jesse Kelly, according to the AP.

4. Democrat Dan Malloy, the former Stamford mayor, has won the Connecticut governor's race, according to the AP. He defeated Republican Tom Foley. 

5. Republican Dino Rossi announced Thursday that he has conceded to Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.).

6. Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn has won election in Illinois over Republican Bill Brady, the AP reports. 

7. Democratic Gov. John Kitzhaber has won a third term in Oregon, defeating Republican Chris Dudley, according to the AP. 

8. Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) beat back a challenge from Republican Ken Buck to win his first full Senate term, the Associated Press declared.

That's eight Dem wins, zero GOP wins. I sense a pattern! And this is a Republican year. Shouldn't the nailbiters be distributed fairly evenly between the parties? ...

If anyone has an explanation for this apparent phenomenon, let me know. All theories—including paranoid and supernatural explanations—will be considered. It's also possible that Politico is biased in its selections.  ... My own hypothesis is that the pattern results from a curse issued by Al Gore after he was declared the loser in Florida in 2000 ...

Update: Daily Beast email headline--"Eight Congressional Races Undecided: In House, GOP likely to get 6 seats." I don't think so! Wanna bet? ... 12:48 a.m.

___________________________

Growth in Office Dept.: From a Politico story anticipating the White House spin on the midterms and quoting a "Democratic source close to the White House":

"[I]t depends on what the president decides. He’s shown a willingness [after past crises] to take responsibility and throw somebody under the bus." [E.A.]

There's nothing like self-criticism. 12:39 a.m.

___________________________

Working thesis: Obama, who broke onto the national stage by denying the differences between red and blue states ("We coach Little League in the blue states ...") has now succeeded in demonstrating that the red and blue areas of the country are pretty much totally different and want nothing to do with each other. ... 12:38 a.m.

___________________________

Is tarnished former car czarito Steve Rattner—who may or may not be paying the S.E.C. a very large fine—now writing regularly for the Financial Times? If so, it's a scandal. Disgraced machers are supposed to write for Slate. ... 12:33 a.m.

___________________________