As the final votes were being counted, it was possible to draw some lessons from Republican Bob McDonnell's victory in Virginia and the close, three-way governor's race in New Jersey, never mind that White House press secretary Robert Gibbs has taken to saying that the elections don't mean much.

The odd-year elections — held in the first year of a presidency — have been meaningful over the last two decades. In 1993, New Jersey voters rejected tax-raising Democratic Gov. Jam ...

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