Honesty about election results

Long and short, yes, when a Democrat wins against a Republican endorsed by a sitting president, it does mean something.  Not the world, but it means something. What does it means?

It means the president's endorsement was not good enough to push the candidate over the line.  It means that people are not so enamored with the president that anything and everything he gives a stamp of approval to is enough to win. 

So yes, do Democrats winning mean that Trump might not be all that he wants to be, or that voters are saying they want something else?  Sure.  Just like those Republicans who won earlier on meant something, too. 

But on the whole, truth is, sitting presidents often see losses in Congress or other party races.  Americans are a fickle lot.  We don't like monopolies in Washington.  As they said time and again during the Obama years, Americans often swing a bit against the sitting administration.  It's what we do.  Especially in recent decades.

That doesn't mean don't worry.  If you end up posting constant losses for your party, or lose in one catastrophic election night (think the 1994 midterms), that means something.  In those cases, Americans are sending a clear message. 

A bigger test for Trump will come next year.   But it's fair to say that the wins by Democrats yesterday show that clearly, Trump's America isn't enough to secure victory after victory.  It should send warning shots to the Republicans, lest they think there will be no consequences for their own actions next year, especially because it is true, and Americans often vote more critically against the sitting president's party.

It will not, however, mean everything the press will attempt to make it mean in the upcoming days.  We will learn Trump is in trouble, things are dire, it's all over, he might as well give up, 2018 is without hope for Republicans.  Only if, by the end of his presidency, he has gradually lost one election after another and seen his party suffer defeat on a regular basis can we say his influence was a net negative as president.  And then, heck, like Obama, we could argue that he was still the best of the best, and all was beautiful and right with the world in any event.