The New York Times reports that Republican victories in the New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial races “put the party in a stronger position to turn back the political wave President Obama unleashed last year, setting the stage for Republicans to raise money, recruit candidates and ride the excitement of an energized base as the party heads into next year’s midterm elections.”

Video

Decision 2009 bodes ill for Dems (NBC Nightly News, Nov. 4, 2009) — A day after watching his party suffer its first bad November election night since 2004, President Barack Obama got nostalgic for his own election exactly one year ago Wednesday. NBC’s Chuck Todd reports. (02:59)

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: One Year Ago — November 4, 2008

Write-in Campaign: Day 17

One year ago today, on Election Day 2008 — the 17th and final day of my write-in campaign against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District — I reiterated instructions for casting a write-in ballot, reported on ongoing violence in Iraq, and republished my Statement on the Iraq War — the issue that originally prompted my entry into the race. Following are excerpts from that statement:

Statement on the Iraq War

My initial motivation for challenging Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) for the Republican nomination was her enthusiastic support for the destructive neocon policies that gave us the Iraq War. Following is an excerpt from my campaign statement.

My main reason for running is U.S. national security — specifically, the unintended consequences of the Iraq war.

Plain and simple, the invasion of Iraq was a mistake.

More than just exacting a huge cost in American blood, treasure, and loss of international stature, our military intervention in Iraq has created complex security challenges for the United States.

Before the invasion, we had in place a very successful containment policy against Iraqi aggression — preserving a delicate balance of power between Iran and Iraq in one of the world’s most volatile regions, the Middle East.

The removal of Saddam has empowered Iran, with its nuclear ambitions, and placed Iraq under the control of Islamist Shiite leaders closely aligned with Iran — thereby creating an infinitely more serious threat to U.S. national security in the region than existed before the invasion.

I’m the only candidate in the Sixth District congressional race with military experience, trained as an airborne soldier in counterinsurgency and anti-terrorist operations and with professional credentials as a military consultant on nuclear counterproliferation, threat assessment, deterrence, and psychological operations.

I offer my specialized training and expertise to help secure the vital national security interests of the United States in the wake of the attacks of 9/11 and emerging security threats triggered by the ill-conceived, short-sighted Iraq war. …