Were the Tuesday elections a sign of things to come?

Did last night's election indicate problems for Obama and the Democrats ahead in 2010?

That's what one reads quite a bit about in the press today. However, we should note that the exit polls did not actually link Obama to the failed gubernatorial campaigns of Democratic candidates in New Jersey and Virginia.

Indeed, the exit polls showed that Obama still has a favorable rating among those who voted on Tuesday.

I'm not trying to downplay the difficulties for Democrats that the elections may have been demonstrated by the Democratic losses.

The polls right now just are not indicating any apocalypse for Democrats in 2010, at least not at the congressional level. In fact, the current polls even indicate that the Democrats could increase their majority in the Senate. And there is nothing in the House polls to suggest with any confidence that the Democrats are looking at a net loss there either.

And the Democrats did have some good news on Tuesday. They gained a House seat in upstate New York due to some bloody infighting between conservative and moderate factions in the Republican Party. This split was probably more important than the actual victory, although the winner Bill Owens will be able to help Obama with his agenda for at least a year. John Garamendi also easily won the other House race in California.

While much analysis still has to be done, I think that probably traditional Democratic laziness and low turnout may have sunk Corzine in New Jersey, while in Virginia, the Republican seemed to simply be a superior opponent in state that can easily swing either way.

Still yesterday should be a wakeup call for Democrats. In order to move voters the way they did during the Obama campaign, they need to reproduce the same energy and work. They cannot expect that everything is going to go their way with the Republicans in some kind of permanent retreat mode.