9 takeaways from the 2014 election  —  1) The Democrats lost.  —  Badly.  This wasn't just a tough map.  Democrats lost Senate seats in Iowa and Colorado.  They lost governor races in Florida and Wisconsin.  Hell, they lost governor races in Illinois, Maryland, Maine, and Massachusetts!

Transcript: President Obama's Nov. 5 news conference on midterm election results  —  President Obama held a news conference Nov. 5 at the White House to discuss the results of the midterm congressional elections .  —  PRESIDENT OBAMA: Good afternoon, everybody.  Have a seat.

What really went wrong for Democrats  —  The most common explanation we're hearing for the GOP sweep of a dozen Senate races last night is that an already-treacherous map for Democrats was made a lot worse by the failure of core Dem voter groups to show up.  —  But multiple Democratic …

Joe Manchin on election results: ‘This is a real ass-whuppin’  —  Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W. Va.) did not mince words on Wednesday when asked to describe the historic losses by congressional Democrats.  —  “This is a real ass-whuppin,” he said.  —  Manchin is a moderate first-term senator …

Wisconsin Three-Peat  —  Why no one can beat Scott Walker.  —  WEST ALLIS, Wisconsin—"First off, I want to thank God."  —  Gov. Scott Walker had just come on stage at the State Fair Exposition Center to give his third victory speech in four years, and the supporters mashed up in front of the stage were totally losing it.

Democrats Didn't Lose Governor's Races Because of a GOP Wave.  They Lost Because of Bad Candidates.  —  I knew Democrat Anthony Brown was in trouble in the race for Maryland governor when every single voter I spoke with Tuesday—including several who voted for Barack Obama …

EXCLUSIVE - Navy SEAL who killed bin Laden revealed: Rob O'Neill named as SEAL Team Six hero who shot 9/11 mastermind three times in head - and has already inspired series of Hollywood films  — SEAL Rob O'Neill named ahead of Fox News interview in which he will tell how he killed bin Laden and why he is giving up his anonymity

Congratulations, Voters.  You Just Made This Climate Denier the Most Powerful Senator on the Environment.  —  In handing Republicans control of the Senate on Tuesday, Americans effectively voted for the party's hostile plans against President Barack Obama's environmental legacy.

Climate Change?  An Issue for Losers  —  Ross Douthat nails it in his NY Times blog post-mortem: … Andrew Restuccia notes in Politico: … Will Bunch in the Philadelphia Daily News: … The Keystone pipeline appears to have a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, according to the National Journal:

Alex Rodriguez's DEA confession: Yes, I used steroids from fake Miami doctor  —  ›  —  ‹  —  For 21 tumultuous months, New York Yankees superstar Alex Rodriguez has defiantly maintained he never used banned substances from a Coral Gables anti-aging clinic …

The Democrats' Catastrophe and the Need For a New Agenda  —  Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, joined by his wife, former Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, celebrates with his supporters at an election night party in Louisville,Tuesday, November 4, 2014.

The Democrats Lost Big Tonight.  Why Obama Should Double Down  —  If I were advising the White House right now, I would encourage President Obama to take advantage of the end of this year's election cycle—the next fifty or so days—to immediately try to change the subject, in a big way.

The Polls Were Skewed Toward Democrats  —  For much of this election cycle, Democrats complained the polls were biased against them.  They said the polls were failing to represent enough minority voters and applying overly restrictive likely-voter screens.  They claimed early-voting data was proving the polls wrong.

West Virginia Elects America's Youngest State Lawmaker  —  A West Virginia University freshman who did most of her campaigning out of her dorm room became the youngest state lawmaker in the nation Tuesday.  —  Republican Saira Blair, a fiscally conservative 18-year-old …