Christie-Cuccinelli 2016? Maybe Not

All politics is not local. So it’s no surprise that tea leaves are much in demand today as political prognosticators seek meaning -- and no small amount of affirmation -- in off-year election results in Virginia, New Jersey and elsewhere. The fate of the Tea Party, President Barack Obama’s health-care reform law, immigration reform, abortion rights and much more were all on the line yesterday. Or so we are told.

In Virginia, voters sent a clear message: Republican gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli was too socially conservative and politically combative. Unless, of course, the hidden meaning of Cuccinelli’s surprisingly narrow loss to Democrat Terry McAuliffe was that the electorate is now in open revolt against Obamacare, which Cuccinelli focused on late in the campaign and almost rode to victory.