By now you know most of the "who won, who lost" as far as the candidates are concerned in the mega-round of primaries held in 11 states this Tuesday.  But what we're more interested in is the bigger picture.  Who are the big "winners and losers" based on how things turned out?

The Winners

Sarah Palin: Palin had a really good night.  In South Carolina's GOP gubernatorial primary, the candidate she backed, three-term state representative Nikki Haley came from fourth place to first (and within one point of winning a four-way primary without a runoff) in the little more than two weeks since Palin's endorsement.  And in Nevada, Palin endorsed another state representative Sharon Angle...who was also in last place...and also went on to finish first.  She also backed Carly Fiorina in California who won that state GOP's senate nomination.

The Tea Party movement: Although Democrats and pundits have belittled it, the Tea Party movement is now proving it can deliver the goods.  See previous notes on South Carolina and Nevada. In South Carolina's GOP primary, 39% of voters self-identified with the Tea Party movement. Add to that Rand Paul's recent win in Kentucky and you can't really draw any conclusion other than the coordinated backing of Tea Party activists matters.  Time will tell if it translates into real change in government, but in the meantime, the movement has to be taken seriously.  read more »

It’s tempting to venture into calling what may be happening to President Obama and the Democrats poetic justice, as more is revealed about the White House, Sestak, Clinton connection.

Clinton and Sestak

Republicans are calling for a special prosecutor to dig into the offering to Sestak of ‘an unpaid job’ as the head of a Presidential commission, if he’d drop his Senate bid in favor of Arlen Specter. The White House has worked quickly to distance the President from the possible backlash if, as some suggested, the law had been broken.

It might be noted here that Obama’s White House moved much faster covering Obama’s butt than they did responding to the disaster in the Gulf. Commission? More likely what he was offered was Secretary of the Navy. There are, of course, many vociferous denials coming from the left as they prepare to circle the wagons. Not the best move in an election year perhaps… sure to draw fire from Republicans and pointed questions from voters as well. What did you know and when did you know it?

The left excoriated George Bush unmercifully for years after nine eleven. The LSM (Lame Stream Media) is also falling all over themselves to minimize the impact of the Sestak story. But as we say in the industry, this story has legs and we haven’t seen or heard the last of it.  read more »