What a great day to be an American!

I participated in Professor Jacobson's live blog event last night as a panelist so this blog was quiet for the most part. The good Professor reports that over 2500 participants took part in that event and I can attest that it was good fun. It was fun watching the returns with a bunch of other giddy people!  You never know what kind of things you'll learn etither; I learned that it's Paul Revere and not Sam Adams on the label of my beer bottle. 

Anyway, like the Professor, I'll have some thoughts through they day about last night, but for now, there's not enough caffeine in the house.  I do have a couple of loose thoughts I want to record, however:

1.  The biggest thrill of the night had to be Marco Rubio's victory.  It was not a surprise as in the final days Rubio was really pulling away in the polls.  But what a wonderful speech Rubio delivered and what a bright future he has!  Thank you Florida!  Thank you for voting for Marco Rubio.

2.  John Boehner's speech:  I've never seen such an emotional Boehner although reports are that he is quite an emotional guy and does that often.  I liked the response by Fuzzy Slippers in the Live Blog stream in Boehner's defense:  he's worked hard his entire life and has never been given a pass.  This really means something to him.  He knows its importance.

3.  I was following a lot of the House races in the southern region (where I live) and was caught by a couple that flipped back and forth all night and stayed very, very close.  Neither was decided when I finally went to bed last night.  One was the AL-02 race with Bobby Bright (D) and Martha Roby (R).  Roby finally prevailed in that race with 51.1% of the vote.  By most accounts, the Democrat, Bright, is as conservative a Democrat as you're likely to find.  He voted against the stimulus, against Cap and Trade, against the health care bill.  He had raised a lot more money than Roby, yet she prevailed.  The district is primarily Republican but has a tendency to vote Democrat at state and local levels, so it could be considered an upset that Roby won.

The other race I had my eye on that was very close was the TX-27 race where the incumbent Solomon Ortiz (D) was defeated by Republican Blake Farenthold by a final vote of 47.9% to 47.1%.  This race is a real testament to the notion that every vote counts.  Don't ever think your vote doesn't matter.  It does.

4.  The Nevada race was a disappointment.  I was so sorry that Reid won, but in looking for the bright side I suppose it will keep Republicans on their toes and will keep the Tea Party energized.  In his speech last night Reid said, "Americans have chosen the politics of hope over the politics of fear!"  That sea of red on the maps now sure looks like hope to me!

5.  The Florida Governor's election is has not yet been decided.  Hmmmm.

My brain needs caffeine.  I'll be back.  Here are some thoughts from others in the meantime:

Michelle Malkin has her post-election column.
Professor Jacobson has some random thoughts.
Stacy McCain & Smitty were live-blogging and have some insight.
Michael Barone has some post-election analysis.

And, as always, Memeorandum has exploding, ongoing threads on the aftermath of last night's wave.

Update:  Scratch No. 5 above, Dem. Alex Sink just gave a concession speech.

Update #2:  Good grief, I just noticed that CA re-elected Pete Stark 71.5% to 28.5% over Forest Baker.  Incredible.  Good Lord almighty I just don't have the words.  Good luck out there, folks.

Update #3:  The caffeine is helping.  But now I have a headache:  TX-18 went to Sheila Jackson Lee. Good grief.  Lunacy.  Like the Stark race in CA, it wasn't even close.  70.2% to 27.3%.  Oh well, at least she's never dull (I mean, boring.)

Update #4:  Arizona 07 and 08, both southern border counties, both went, or are leaning, Democrat.  You can draw all kinds of conclusions from that.  This handy-dandy map is great.  In the Senate, three races are still too close to call.

Update #5:  The Republican Leadership press conference:  Mitch McConnell and Boehner both declare themselves ready to "listen to the American people" and are ready to "turn the ship around" on the Obama agenda.  McConnell:  "Ignoring the voters and their wishes...produces predictable results." McConnell said, "Choosing the president over your constituents is not a good strategy."

To Democrats, McConnell suggests they listen to the voters and work with Republicans.

Haley Barbour is there also to comment on the governor's races which he says is a referendum on Obama's policies.  "The voters yesterday voted against excessive spending, piling on of deficits...huge tax increases coming in January and a takeover of the health care system." 

Boehner says Pelosi called him this morning and left him "a very nice voicemail" and he expects a smooth transition.

He also says "continuing all the current tax rates for all Americans is the right policy at this time."

One thing Boehner says is very true:  there are more people engaged in American government right now than ever.  People are finally paying attention.  McConnell points out that this is just a "first step" in changing direction for Washington.  Further change can happen in 2012; he also points out there will still have to be bi-partisan agreement to get things done.

Update #6:  Althouse had a fun live-blog last night.

Update: Welcome Instapundit readers!!

Representative Joseph Cao is drawing fire around the state for his stand on Obamacare. NOLA has this article this morning (via The Dead Pelican) which describes one of Cao's town hall meetings in New Orleans:

"Days earlier in New Orleans, supporters called for reform. Sally Stevens complained she had $8,000 in medical bills. "I'll let you and your insurance lobbyist buddies handle them," she said, leaving behind a handful of hospital bills before she stormed out."

And that's one of the oddities of this whole debate for me; why do people like Ms. Stevens assume that the government is responsible for their health care bills?

I'm reminded of John Marsh. He was married to Margaret Mitchell, the famous Gone With the Wind author. Mr. Marsh was quite ill right before he and Miss Mitchell married, and he spent months in the hospital as doctors attempted to determine what was wrong with him. This left him with a huge stack of medical bills by the time he was finally released. Margaret Mitchell was also frequently in a doctor's office with assorted ailments of her own. Between the two of them, their medical bills were astounding.

This all occurred during the depression. Did it ever occur to Mr. Marsh or Miss Mitchell to have the government or anyone else bail them out? To cover their bills? Of course not. Mr. Marsh picked up a second job and worked for years to pay the bills off. Miss Mitchell's father, a man of means, offered to help pay them off for the couple, but they refused.

My point is, of course, this entire entitlement society in which we live now. The government is not obligated to pay your health care bills (unless you are a veteran, of course. That's a different issue altogether.)

As for Cao, he represents a primarily Democratic district and as a Republican is having a hard time representing the interest of his constituents. On Obamacare, according to the NOLA piece, he says "he is leaning toward voting for the Democrat-backed legislation and expects to discuss it with President Barack Obama, but he is concerned about its possible effect on the deficit, Medicare and small businesses. One deal-killer, the lawyer and former Jesuit seminarian said, would be a lack of explicit language forbidding federal funding for abortion. That position drew shouted criticism from abortion rights supporters at one recent town hall."

Cao has made clear that the abortion clause is a deal breaker for him. Either way, he's a rarity in Congress: a man standing on his principles and still trying to represent his constituents.