The Associated Press: GOP sweep: Big governor victories in Virginia, NJ
Washington — Independents who swept Barack Obama to a historic 2008 victory broke big for Republicans on Tuesday as the GOP wrested political control from Democrats in Virginia and New Jersey, a troubling sign for the president and his party heading into an important midterm election year. Conservative Republican Bob McDonnell's victory in the Virginia Governor's race over Democrat R. Creigh Deeds and moderate Republican Chris Christie's ouster of unpopular New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine...

GOP sweep: Big governor victories in Virginia, NJ
Independents who swept Barack Obama to a historic 2008 victory broke big for Republicans on Tuesday as the GOP wrested political control from Democrats in Virginia and New Jersey , a troubling sign for the president and his party heading into an important midterm election year. Conservative Republican Bob McDonnell 's victory in the Virginia Governor's race over Democrat R. Creigh Deeds and moderate Republican Chris Christie's ouster of unpopular New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine was a double-barreled...

The Obama magic has faded
All politics is local, they say, and Tuesday’s off-off-year Elections certainly had their local angles. Jon Corzine has been a terrible Governor even by the undemanding standards of terribly governed

Not a Referendum on Obama -- By: Kathryn Jean Lopez: VIDEO
That's the word from Steele, Baby, Steele, the RNC chair: 

Early exit polls: Obama a factor, but not the main factor: PHOTO
Even I didn’t expect him to be the main factor in local races, but here are the numbers for those who did. Still, majorities of voters in both states (55 percent in Virginia and 60 percent in New Jersey) said President Obama was not a factor in their vote today. Those who said Mr. Obama was a factor in New Jersey divided as to whether their vote was a vote for the president (19 percent) or against him (20 percent). In Virginia, slightly fewer voters said their vote was for Mr. Obama (18...

Key Gibbs takeaways - Gibbs talks elections, H1N1
POLITICO44 is a new and innovative way to cover the Obama presidency, minute-by-minute. Powered by the largest White House staff around, it will be the go-to place for news and analysis about the president, the staff, the first lady, the vice president, and the new administration.

Dem Corzine ousted in N.J., GOP takes Va.
TRENTON, N.J., Nov. 3 (UPI) -- Former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie ousted New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine in Tuesday's election, a Republican victory in a typically Democratic state. With 81 percent of the districts counted, Christie had about 49 percent of the vote to 45 percent for Corzine, leading by around 100,000 votes, The New York Times reported. Independent Chris Daggett , a former Republican environmental official, had 5 percent of the vote. President Barack Obama made three visits to the...

The Associated Press: Republican Christie captures NJ governor's race
TRENTON, N.J. — Republican Chris Christie has defeated Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine in New Jersey. With 71 percent of precincts reporting Tuesday night, Christie had 50 percent of the vote to Corzine's 44 percent. Christie, a 47-year-old former federal prosecutor, became the first member of his party in a dozen years to win a statewide contest in heavily Democratic New Jersey. The Republican victory deals a blow to President Barack Obama as he readies for next year's midterm Elections....

GOP sweep: Big governor victories in Virginia, NJ
Independents who swept Barack Obama to a historic 2008 victory broke big for Republicans on Tuesday as the GOP wrested political control from Democrats in Virginia and New Jersey , a troubling sign for the president and his party heading into an important midterm election year. Conservative Republican Bob McDonnell 's victory in the Virginia Governor's race over Democrat R. Creigh Deeds and moderate Republican Chris Christie's ouster of unpopular New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine was a double-barreled...

GOP sweep: Big governor victories in Virginia, NJ
WASHINGTON -- Independents who swept Barack Obama to a historic 2008 victory broke big for Republicans on Tuesday as the GOP wrested political control from Democrats in Virginia and New Jersey, a troubling sign for the president and his party heading into an important midterm election year.

Obama's half brother: Our father was abusive: PHOTO
President Barack Obama's half brother has broken his media silence to discuss his new novel

McDonnell wins in Va.; Christie takes lead in NJ
Republicans wrested Virginia from the Democrats Tuesday in a one-sided sweep of top offices, and New Jersey 's unpopular Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine fought for his political life as independent voters swung behind the GOP in Elections in both states. It was a troubling sign for President Barack Obama and his party heading into an important midterm election year. Conservative Republican Bob McDonnell 's victory in the Virginia Governor's race over Democrat R. Creigh Deeds was a triumph for a GOP...

Top Dems: Obama Won't Get Health Care Bill in 2009: PHOTO
Just last week, President Barack Obama declared he is "absolutely confident" he'll be able to sign a Health Care reform bill by the end of the year, but senior Congressional Democrats now tell ABC News that is highly unlikely.

GOP wins Va. gov race a year after Obama won state
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Republican Bob McDonnell easily won the Virginia Governor's race Tuesday as independent voters who last year delivered the state to President Barack Obama shifted to the GOP, handing the party a convincing sweep of statewide offices. Unofficial results showed McDonnell, a conservative and former state Attorney General, with nearly two-thirds of the vote over Democrat R. Creigh Deeds. He will be the state's first Republican Governor in eight years. "I just got tackled by my...

Wire: PHOTO
New Jersey (AP) - - The tight three-way race for Governor of New Jersey, a state battered by high taxes and scarred by government corruption, was too close to call after balloting ended Tuesday, according to an Associated Press exit poll of voters. Voters had their pick from an unpopular incumbent who had help from President Obama, a blunt-talking former prosecutor who vowed to rein in taxes and a third-party candidate looking to capitalize on a disillusioned electorate. Obama endorsed...

GOP wins Va. gov race a year after Obama won state
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Republican Bob McDonnell has easily won the Virginia Governor's race just a year after the state went overwhelmingly for President Barack Obama and the Democrats. Unofficial results show the former Attorney General defeating Creigh (kree) Deeds and returning a Republican to the Governor's office for the first time in eight years. This race and the contest for Governor of New Jersey are viewed as the first referendum on the president and the Democratic Congress before the...

Year Later, a Daily Grind
Washington — For a president elevated to power on the back of history, the tears and euphoria of Grant Park feel like a thousand years ago. It has been just one year, of course, since Barack Obama 's election, a year since that moment when supporters felt everything was possible amid lofty talk of "remaking this nation" and determined chants of "Yes, we can." A year later, as a few smaller Elections yielded a more tempered judgment, the hope and hubris have given way to the daily grind of...

GOP Gains Could Hurt Obama Political Capital, If Not Agenda
Republican gubernatorial wins in New Jersey and Virginia mark a troubling turn for President Obama, whose personal efforts couldn't stop the fall of Democrats facing a voter backlash over The Economy and a notable uptick in the government's would-be role in people's lives. Washington -- Republican gubernatorial wins in New Jersey and Virginia mark a troubling turn for President Obama, whose personal efforts couldn't stop the fall of Democrats facing a voter backlash over The Economy and a...

Election: VIDEO
Exit polls are reporting that a majority of voters in New Jersey and Virginia, where Republican gubernatorial candidates won tonight, say that President Obama wasn't a factor in their voting. Obama is personally popular but people are feeling ornery. I get that. Tonight wasn't that big a deal -- certainly no national referendum. I was seriously impressed with Tom Ford's A Single Man in Toronto. It played even better early this evening. Gently moving, immaculate photography, elegant, understated....

U.S. Obama congratulates EU on Lisbon Treaty conclusion
Washington, November 4 (RIA Novosti) - U.S. President Barack Obama believes that the conclusion of the Lisbon Treaty would make the United States and Europe much stronger partners. Obama received on Tuesday in Washington Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso and EU Foreign Policy chief Javier Solana. "I congratulated them on the conclusion of the Lisbon Treaty, which will further move Europe in the direction of integration not only on...

Virginia, New Jersey elect Republican governors
Reporting from San Francisco and Washington - Republicans seized the governorships of Virginia and New Jersey on Tuesday, giving the GOP a psychological boost heading into next year's midterm Elections. The two parties were also battling in a pair of House races in New York and California. Republicans were quick to cast their wins as a referendum on the president and a severe setback for Obama. But any meaning was muddied by differences among Tuesday's assorted campaigns, which were shaped more...

Hey, isn't that . . . ?
Sasha, Michelle and Malia Obama walk back to The White House after attending a morning service at St. John's Episcopal Church on Oct. 11. (Kristoffer Tripplaar-Pool/Getty Images) Vincent Pastore, better known as "Big Pussy" from "The Sopranos," rocking out...

Polls Closed in New Jersey … Let the Counting Begin for Governors Race: Christie & Corzine
  The polls have closed in the Garden State … will it be incumbent Jon Corzine or will Republican challenger Chris Christie win New Jersey’s Governorship? The last Rasmussen poll prior to the election had Christie with a 3% point lead over Corzine, 46% – 43% . CNN is stating that 6 in 10 NJ voters said in exit polling that President Barack Obama had no effect on their vote in this off-year gubernatorial election. It’s nice of CNN to provide cover for The One....

The Cowbell Clanks On the Road -- By: Jonah Goldberg: PHOTO
From a reader: Jonah,   Obama goes to Europe and comes back with no Olympics.  Goes to NJ and his candidate looses.  Same in Va.  Maybe he should stay at home since he comes back empty handed each time.

The Christie Win -- By: Kathryn Jean Lopez: PHOTO
has to be a real defeat for the Democrats. They'll tell you otherwise, but it is. Barack Obama went into New Jersey for Corzine as late as Sunday night. They thought it was winnable. And it appears they have lost.