PARTING SHOTS
GOOD WEEK
President
Obama He is re-elected despite economic numbers that usually spell doom for an incumbent. Gracious victory speech evokes optimism of four years earlier.
Gay rights Historic night sees election of first openly lesbian U.S. senator and votes in support of marriage equality in four states. Mayor Ed Lee San Francisco voters reflect the mayor’s sensible approach to policy: approving a business-tax overhaul to promote job growth, rejecting the idea of draining Hetch Hetchy — and ousting the supervisor who voted to reinstate a criminal sheriff.
BAD WEEK
Talking Heads It’s been a long election season, and the weariness was evident across the dial. Dick Morris proved a bit wacky in retrospect with his guarantee of a Romney landslide; ABC’s Diane Sawyer looked as if she’d had a little too much Chardonnay in the green room; Karl
Rove came off as a sore loser and a little unhinged in challenging Fox News’ call on Obama victory, leading to a testy on-air showdown; MSNBC’s Chris Matthews had to apologize for a clumsy remark about the silver lining of Hurricane Sandy; Fox’s Bill O’Reilly seemed downright wistful that the “white establishment is now the minority” and that power has shifted to people who feel “entitled to things.”