Win-Win

The Gloomsters in Donk Gloomville are Gloomier

M iller even has the right look: With a long, lean face, and stubble closer to 10 o'clock than 5, he could almost pass for Chuck Norris. Unfortunately for him, not even Chuck Norris in his most bad-ass role—which is, of course, Chuck Norris in real life—could rescue the Miller campaign. Always a long shot, Miller lags behind Murkowski, the heir to one of Alaska's political dynasties, by double digits. Alexandra Gutierrez, a SLATE political columnist on Monday. ”

Another WHOOPS! moment. I read a number of stories last week (like this AP gloat ), that had a  Palin-Power-Interruptus theme, very much like Gutierrez did Monday at SLATE. “  On Tuesday, in her home state, Sarah Palin's favorite will probably get trounced. Joe Miller is widely expected to lose by a large margin to incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowski in the Republican primary—an embarrassing defeat for the former governor, who has endorsed Miller, but also to Miller's other major backer, the Tea Party Express. And Palin's endorsement hasn't helped, Moore adds. According to a Dittman Research poll conducted in April, 52 percent of Alaskans hold a negative opinion of Palin. "When someone with those kinds of numbers endorses someone for public office, believe me, the effect is on the whole negative," says Moore. ” Miller won the election, pending the count of 8,000 absentee ballots.  Here's the WaPost this morning. “ WINNERS Sarah Palin: Just when it looked like her influence in Republican primary fights was fading, Palin came back with a vengeance last night -- as all five of her endorsed candidates appeared headed to victories including Alaska attorney Joe Miller who led Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski with 98 percent of precincts reporting. Both Murkowski and Miller blamed/credited Palin with the result, which is rightly seen as the biggest upset of the 2010 cycle to date. The message? In Republican primaries -- particularly small turnout affairs -- the energy and enthusiasm that Palin can help create is invaluable. ” John McCormack has more detail, "Who is Joe Miller?"