News, Analysis and Commentary

If I were a Democrat (I’m not; I’m an independent) I would be wary of self-delusion.

Listening to party leaders, reading the newspapers and taking in the breathless talking-heads of cable TV, there is a constant bombardment of conclusions that last Tuesday’s primary results were a great victory for Democrats. Results are cast as indicators that a giant “Blue Wave” of Democratic support is, indeed, coming in November.

This line of thinking goes: “Well, yes, we lost in places such as Ohio, but the margins were thin and bode well for this fall’s national mid-terms.”

Well, maybe. But clear-headed thinking dictates a reality-check.  Wins are wins, and losses are losses. And the Republicans won a lot.  True, some places where they were–metaphorically–favored by several touchdowns but won only by an extra-point or field-goal. But they won. Hard fact. And as much as many people don’t want to acknowledge it, President Trump has some right to crow (but, as usual, he’s overdoing it and thus has his own version of self-delusion, not to mention his overblown sense of self-importance.)

Besides the danger of Democrats beginning to believe their own b.s., they risk believing the newspaper and cable tv hype…all of which can lead to overconfidence and disappointment.

Not much counts now except what the scoreboard shows in November.  Democrats deserve to be favorites for regaining the House. But only if they give themselves a cold-shower of reality, stay focused and get their vote to the polls. The ballot box rules, not mirages born of “moral victories” in close losses.