Washington Post: Pretty hard to see how Dems hold the Senate tomorrow

The point here is not to make you (or us) overconfident. None of this matters if we don't get to the polls and make it happen tomorrow.

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There's nothing wrong with optimism, after all, and Herman's already given you lots of reasons to recognize why it all matters. For my part, the thought of a defenestrated Harry Reid muttering in front of the cameras on Tuesday night after being stripped of his power . . . this is simply too delicious for words. I have to see it. So of course I'm going to cling at this point to reasons for optimism, especially when they come from lefty media like the Washington Post:

In a campaign year marked by unending negativity and voter disgust toward Washington, strategists in both camps agree that Republicans are almost certain to pick up five of the six seats they need to regain control. They have many opportunities to grab an additional seat and, if things break decisively in their direction, could easily claim the majority. Democrats’ hopes of holding on largely depend on whether they can take one or two seats currently in Republican hands. Nevertheless, there is a good chance the final result won’t be known on Election Night. Runoff elections are expected in Louisiana and possibly in Georgia, which would mean that those races would not be resolved for weeks. If the race in Alaska is tight, it could take days to count all of the ballots from remote villages. And if independent Greg Orman wins in Kansas, it remains to be seen whether he would caucus with the Democrats or the Republicans.

What's maddening is that it really shouldn't even be this close. Michigan was a golden opportunity for a pickup with Carl Levin's retirement, but as I've ranted ad nauseum in my column for the Detroit News, the Michigan Republican Party blew it by nominating a completely inept candidate who is now running 15 points behind in a state the looks set to re-elect Republicans across the board to every other statewide office. We should have been more competitive against Al Franken in Minnesota. And we shouldn't be sweating the defense of our own seats in Georgia and Kansas. Even so, as the Post points out, both the math and the momentum are arguing for a huge Republican celebration on Tuesday night. Seriously, does Reid actually come out and say anything once it's clear the voters have taken his power away from him? Or does he run and hide like the small, despicable little coward he is? As much as I want to see the former, my money's on the latter.