Although the GOP didn’t didn’t quite reach my prediction of 77 seats in the House (although there’s still a chance I could come within, say, ten or less) – there’s no question that the 2010 mid-terms will go down in history as the day the Obama march towards European-style socialism was stopped in its tracks as decisively as Hitler at Stalingrad, albeit without the carnage.

While on the surface one might argue that the Republicans could have done better – after all Harry Reid will still be Senate Majority Leader and Barney Frank, Barbara Boxer, and (I’m guessing) Patty Murray all lived to see another day, and hopefuls like Christine O’Donnell, Sharron Angle, and Carly Fiorina under-performed in terms of expectations. But those in the know – on both sides of the political aisle – know that the tsunami that hit the Democrats on Tuesday night was truly historic in nature, both deep and destructive, with implications far beyond Washington D.C. when it comes to 2011 redistricting as a result of the 2010 census, and the far-different political landscape all the 2012 presidential candidates will face (my boldings):

Finally, look at the states with both Republican governors and legislatures. They now include key political battlegrounds such as Michigan, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Wisconsin, plus Tennessee and Alabama which are catching up to most of their Southern neighbors in this regard (North Carolina, Mississippi, and Arkansas remain the outliers, the first two still having divided governments and the latter a fully Democratic one). In addition to crafting pivotal congressional-redistricting maps next year, these states are going to be laboratories for conservative governance in the months and years to come. Not coincidentally, they could also prove to be incubators for future Republican candidates for federal office.

One final observation: anyone tuning in to the election coverage last night could not have missed the fact that the Republicans who were winning were young, enthusiastic and fairly telegenic. If I’m looking for a party that looks and thinks this country’s future, I’ll take the likes of Marco Rubio, John Kasich, and Kristi Noem over Harry Reid, Barney Frank, and Barbara Boxer anyday.

Thank you, President Obama, for not listening to The Great White Shank. Now go off on your $2 million a day India junket and give us all a break.

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UPDATE: Silly me, I got the daily figure wrong for the Obama “Passage To India Tour” , it is $200 million a day, not $2 – hey, with unemployment expected to rise for October, the emperor still has to travel in style, right? Prediction: this will be the last straw for Dems sitting on the sidelines and wondering whether Hillary should run against him in 2012.

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Pool temp: 66 degrees