Pundit Pap Special
for Election Day, November 3, 1998
An Evening Backpeddling With the Pundits!
Behold the Opinion Makers With Feet Firmly in Mouth!
Behold Elected Officials in Denial!
Gasbags in Shock!
The Horror! The Horror!

Wednesday, November 4, 1998 --- New York (APJP) -- First, snippets from notes received from our readers during the election coverage of last evening:

"The windbags are eating a seven-course crow dinner."
"Russert on Rivera right now -- eating crow..."
"Never have so many consumed so much crow so quickly."

The voting electorate served up a feast of black-feathered poultry for the punditocracy and GOP politicians last evening -- and here are a few choice morsels:

7-8 PM

Jay Severin, MSNBC: "Impeachment will wither on the vine -- for the first time, we have compelling evidence that an impeachment pursuit might defy the American voters!"

Tim Russert: "The Governors are the new Republican Party."

Brit Hume on victories for Hollings and Hodges: "It is a surprise we were able to call them so early, and a surprise that they both went to Democrats."

8-9 PM

Rep. Vic Fazio: "This is a tremendous victory for Democrats: to take back a state that has been under republican lock and key."

Chairman, Democratic Leadership Council: "The Republicans missed the opportunity they had back in 1995 to consolidate their [1994] election victory."

Bill Bennett: "If the turnout isn't there, you will see challenges to Newt... The Bush brothers are going to put Trent Lott and Newt Gingrich off to the side."

Fred Barnes: "Democrats in this campaign had a pretty strong finishing kick."

Tony Blankley on CNN: "None of the losses are, I think, expected."

Tony Snow (at 8:40, 20 minutes before release of projections): "Our exit polls show Alfonse D'Amato's Jewish vote is down 17%!"

Jim Nicholson, RNC Chairman, on Republican defeats in the Carolinas: "What it's telling us is that these states are very Democratic states."

Margaret Carlson: "The newscasts gave [the GOP negative ads] major national attention -- it [the ad campaign] didn't work!"

Bob Novak: "There is enormous dissatisfaction with the Republican leadership on both sides of the aisle... The Republicans want to win elections and will say 'Why can't you be more like the Bush brothers?' "

Cynthia Oxney: "James Carville was right -- it's the economy, stupid!"

Brit Hume: "Lauch Faircloth called John Engler to congratulate him, and Vice President Gore called him, and that is major."

9 PM -- All the networks project Schumer defeating D'Amato

Brit Hume: "Are they taking it hard?" Fox reporter at D'Amato HQ, Waldorf Astoria: "They're not acting like it."

Brian Williams: "A stunned crowd!" Rahema Ellis at the Waldorf Astoria: "Indeed it is, Brian."

Russert to Geraldo: "Republican Governors preached a message of pragmatism and performance over idealism. [Will congressional republicans ask] let's follow the lead of Republican Governors?"

Rahema Ellis to Geraldo: "It is a very somber crowd tonight."

Trent Lott to Catherine Cryer on GOP issues: "There wasn't really a national theme."

Dan Quayle to Brian Williams: "Let's hope we do a lot better as we go West. I think we will."

Howard Fineman: "This is a mirror image of 1994."

Laura Ingraham on dimming GOP hopes for big gains: In '94 and '96 "Republicans won very high numbers of seats which is probably why they're not making those kinds of gains."

Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) to Geraldo on the impeachment issue: "Two-thirds of [voters] didn't care -- they didn't give a damn about it."

Geraldo on Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI), then unprojected: "Was he too noble, too naive?"
Lautenberg, laughing: "Depends on the outcome!" 10-11 PM

Bernard Shaw, 10:00 PM exactly: "We have this bulletin: for the first time since 1934, the Democratic Party will PICK UP seats in the house!"

Howard Fineman on House Judiciary Committee loser Inglis, winner Schumer and impeachment hearings: "I think they're going to want to shut down this thing as fast as they can."

Tom Brokaw: "Is it possible that the GOP overplayed the Lewinsky issue?"
Newt Gingrich (R-GA): "It's very likely you all in the media overplayed it."

Tim Russert: "What an irony -- the Republicans take the Governorships in the Northeast -- New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut -- and they lose them in the South!

Mark Green, New York City Public Advocate: "Al D'Amato has been a fugitive from the law of averages for years... The law caught up to him tonight."

Michael Barone: "I think it's a good night for Bill Clinton because the numbers don't support impeachment."

Tim Russert: "There are a lot of moderate, liberal Republicans who do not vote with Gingrich -- we have a deadlocked Congress!"

11 PM-Midnight

Candy Crowley on Boxer's projected victory: "It may not be the year of the woman, but it is the year of this woman!"

Brian Williams: "Another year of the woman winner of 1992 -- Patty Murray wins."

Brian Williams: "We may be seeing tomorrow in news commentaries talk of backlash... some might say a backlash against the Christian right."

Morton Kondracke:" It was amazing how close Carol Moseley Braun came... One wonders whether if the Republicans had nominated a more moderate candidate... might have done better against Moseley Braun."

Mike McCurry: "The White House has to build on the success of this night, not overplay its hand... [and] look forward to the State of the Union Address to set forth a new agenda."

Howard Fineman: "On the East Coast, you had the end of the Reagan Revolution."

Ted Koppel: "Today's elections were not decided on sex, perjury, or scandals in general."

Howard Fineman: "Republicans have impeachment in their hands and no mandate for it!"

Cokie Roberts on Democrat gains in Congress: "You can't have an election like this in the middle of the impeachment proceedings and not say that it isn't about the impeachment... Clearly this would be interpreted by Republicans when they return as a backlash."

Sam Donaldson: "The impeachment process has been slowed."

Rahm Emanuel: "I think the public has said 'get back to work'.... The Republicans will likely move to replace their leadership.... Republicans decided to make this election about impeachment. That agenda has been repudiated.... Someone has to pay a price."

Rudolph Giuliani: "I want to see Chuck Schumer be a successful Senator, and if he needs Republican help, I'll do anything I can... We have got to move with respect to the President and the Presidency with judiciousness."

Orrin Hatch: "All politics is local -- I don't think the impeachment issue entered into it at all!"

Barney Frank: "Senator Hatch is the voice of reason -- for partisan reasons I should be glad that his party wasn't listening!"

Orrin Hatch: "I think the Republican Party has to wake up and get off its dime... and go after the minority vote!"

Dick Armey (in response to Ted Koppel's question of GOPers out for his head): "They're welcome to it if they're big enough to take it!"

After Hours

Kate Lamott in Salon: "I'm so happy. I'm ecstatic. I'm hysterical. I'm so happy that piece of shit D'Amato lost that I ate a can of Campbell's D'Amato soup to celebrate and now I'm eating all my child's Halloween candy to further the exhilaration."

Michael Barone: "The 2000 race could be a battle for the Latino vote...."
Fred Barnes: "You're going to see Dan Quayle speaking Spanish, you're going to see Gary Bauer speaking Spanish."

George Stephanopoulos: "You will see multiple civil wars in the GOP." (A civil war over Congressional leadership, a civil war between moderates and hard-righters/Christian conservatives, and GOP governors on the ascendancy -- Pataki, Engler and the Bush brothers.)

Al Franken in Salon: "As for those poisonous voices in American political life like Rush Limbaugh, I don't think the election results will matter much. Nothing will silence them."

Mike McCurry on the victory of Jesse Ventura, Governor-Elect of Minnesota: "At the next Governor's conference, he's going to go body-slam all the moderates!"

Judy Woodruff: "There's something majestic when voters speak on Election Day."

Jeff Greenfield: "An election like tonight proves that no matter what we think we know, the voters always have the capacity to surprise us."

Tom Brokaw: "The political landscape turned upside down!"