Getting to 60

Various people, including Kaus, are asking if the Democrats (or Obama) really want to get to 60 in the Senate. I think the answer is yes, though obviously because of moderate Republican and conservative Democrat defections from their respective caucuses there are different formulas to get to 60 on any given issue. So it's not a magic number like 270 electoral votes. It's kind of a fake magic number.

But if the Democrats don't get there they won't be heartbroken. Take the Alaska race: is it really so terrible for the Democrats if Stevens wins? He's the poster boy for the intellectual and moral bankruptcy of the GOP. He's the perfect guy to have kicking around so that you can kick him around. If Begich wins, that's cool, too. And if 60 is symbolically important in terms of whether or not people blame the Democrats solely (rather than just 75 or 80%) for an ineffective Congressional session, then maybe it's better that the Republicans keep the Georgia or Alaska Senate seats.

Basically it's win-win.