Fresh Loaf

— Congratulations Georgia. We continue to go against the mainstream and managed to save democracy last night by withholding that 60th Democratic vote in the U.S. Senate. Where from here? Amy at Georgia Women Vote has already turned her eye toward the next big vote: Is there a Democrat in the house worthy of being Georgia’s next governor?

— Andre at Georgia Politics Unfiltered notes that two years ago, with virtually no money in his war chest, Martin got 42.3 percent of the vote when he ran for lieutenant governor. This year, with a substantial war chest and Obama’s troops behind him … he got 42.6 percent of the vote. That’s what happens when the only viable candidate you can find has to be pushed into the election like leading a mule to water.

— The esteemed Nate Silver at FiveThirtyEight wonders if the shameless one hasn’t found the new path for Republican candidates. They can’t run on Bush’s record, they can’t run against Obama’s record yet. The Big Sax Machine spotlighted his “bi-partisanship” and Silver says Republicans may have realized it doesn’t promote their cause to act like assholes.

— At What Is Going On?, Wilson Smith offers his own post-election analysis and also has a podcast chat with DriftGrift.

— The author of the Daly Briefing is home from his stint in Iraq and pondering fate. There were certain things he didn’t blog about from the war zone, sometimes to protect his fellow soldiers and other times to keep friends and family members from worrying. Today, he discusses one of those episodes in which fate seemed to lend a hand to protect him from a mine.

— And, finally, Reporter-Cub notes the passing of one of America’s great singers, Odetta. It’s worth a look because he has a sound clip of my favorite Odetta song, the best version of “Midnight Special” I’ve ever heard.

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— The day before the best meal of the year, the feast that kicks off the season that inspires millions of diets each January. It feels strange to still be in the midst of an election cycle, but it’s heating up in Georgia. Or is it? Nate Silver at FiveThirtyEight lends his expertise to the Georgia Senate race, and says Jim Martin is stuck in neutral. He started the run-off three points down, and he remains three points down. In order to take down the Big Sax Machine, Silver concludes, Martin needs at least one of three things to happen.

— Who to vote for? Jen B. at Blog For Democracy has already decided, as have most of us. But her reasoning includes the outrageous, an L.A. Times report on the treatment of U.S. soldiers who were injured in Iraq.

— Travis Fain brings that story a little closer to home at Lucid Idiocy. Meet Thomas Roach, 80, who is having to leave the Georgia War Veterans Home in Milledgeville because the state has decided to shut it down. That’s scandalous. Thankfully, we still have Sonny Boy’s “Go Fish” project to give us hours of fishing pleasure catching bass and brim soaked in our chemical-filled rivers and lakes.

— In the spirit of thanks, Reporter-Cub offers a compelling list of the things he’s thankful for, not the least of which are gasoline prices way under $5 a gallon and that Caribou Barbie is back in Alaska where she belongs.

— Doug at Live Apartment Fire gives thanks to television’s November sweeps, where local news directors go a little crazy with the gimmicks to get us to watch the six o’clock news. He has a YouTube gallery of some of the more insane reports, from here and beyond, that have polluted our airwaves.

— And, finally, the lovely Sara at Going Through The Motions is over her flu, although she’s still apparently suffering from delusional hallucinations. For example, she thinks the greatest 4th quarter comeback ever involved FSU and Florida. Of course, everyone knows it’s really the “Run, Lindsay, run” game when Georgia stomped Florida’s hearts in Jacksonville in 1980. But she’s a FSU alum and she saw the game when she was a sophomore, so we’ll have to excuse her on this one. Have a great Thanksgiving all you bloggerheads!

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Nate Silver at FiveThirtyEight pulls some factoids from Mark Blumenthal’s Exit Poll FAQ and tells you why exit polls — the go-to resource for pundits and journalists in post-election maelstroms where viewers and readers want a lot of information and fast — should not be trusted. Each reason is worth a read; you can do so here.

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