Predictably, much has been said and written about Democratic Acting Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s victory in Tuesday’s special election to fulfill the remaining year of now-Sen. Joe Manchin’s term. Equally predictable, Democrats were quick to claim that their victory has national implications.Don’t get us wrong: Tomblin’s 50-percent to 47-percent win over Republican businessman Bill Maloney was an important and much-needed psychological boost for Democrats, particularly after their losses last month in the NV-02 and NY-09 special congressional elections. Plus, Democrats get points for the effective ads they ran against Maloney and for their superior ground game. But, Democrats will ignore the warning signs of this election at their peril. Some strategists have suggested that Tomblin’s campaign has provided them with a roadmap for Democratic incumbents and challengers running in 2012 in states where President Obama is unpopular. Instead, the lesson might be that Republicans were able to close this race with a single television ad that linked Tomblin and Obama on a controversial issue in a state in which the President’s job approval rating hovers in the low 30s.The Republican
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