You get Coons

In "Two Cathedrals," one of the most gut-wrenching episodes of The West Wing (especially when it re-ran the week after 9-11), President Bartlett is berating God for his secretary's tragic death and after enumerating a few of his more notable accomplishments in office, he decides (momentarily) not to run for re-election.  "You get Hoynes," he tells God, referring to his egotistical, ineffective VP.  Of course, by the end of the episode, we know that he's changed his mind.

No such dramatic turnaround is in the offing for Delaware's Senate race.  24 hours ago, the GOP had a solid (moderate) R pick-up in the bag, all the polls showing Joe Biden's seat an easy win for popular nine-term Congressman and former Governor Mike Castle against relatively unknown Democrat Chris Coons.  But the Republican voters of Delaware nominated Tea Party candidate Christine O'Donnell instead, and now the predictions for that seat have flipped to a safe, blue D.  I rarely find myself in agreement with much at Salon, but they got this right.

Republicans in Delaware faced a very simple choice in Tuesday's primary: Did they want to win Joe Biden's old Senate seat in November, or did they want to lose it?

They went with the latter option, and if that really surprises you, then you haven't been paying close enough attention to Republican Party politics in the age of Obama.

(After that, it gets silly, but point made.)  Conservatives are understandably fond of pointing out how Obama's fetish of ideological purity continually trumps his political sense and his commitment to the success of his party.  It's safe to say that finger is now pointing squarely back at them.

There is great joy and, yes, hope, among Democrats today.  Sometimes, it only takes a small shift in momentum to turn the whole game around.  It remains to be seen how much play they'll get out of this one.

One thing is a virtual certainty.  The Republicans in Delaware have thrown away a seat in the the U.S. Senate.  Delaware gets Coons.