On Tuesday, Beltway denizens were stressing that Tuesday's three major off-year elections were all important, and if Dems lost all three it would be very bad news and tell us all kinds of important details about Obama's political standing.

Well, check that. Dems, in something of a shocker, won the upstate N.Y. Congressional race in a very red district, while losing two governors races in N.J. and VA. So what's Balz's spin at the WashPost? Only the VA. and N.J. race are worth dissecting; only the VA. and N.J. contests tell us anything useful about the political mood of the country. (i.e. It's “ominous” for Democrats.)