It is just after 9pm on the west coast, and Nate Silver is predicting that the Republicans will take over the House while Democrats will keep control of the Senate, but just barely. But what makes me a bit sad is that Silver is saying that the Republicans seem to be doing slightly better than the polls predicted.

Why sad? Because for the Republicans this election is the triumph of Rovian politics over governance. You can drive the country into the ground, lie the country into war, torture, give billions to your friends, and still win elections by just attacking the other side relentlessly and with little regards for the truth.

The results show that the American people are less interested in how you actually govern the nation, and vote more based on politics — how things are spun. This is a victory for political pundits, and the organizations (and corporations) they work for. It isn’t just that a majority of people in this country believe things that are most certainly not true. It isn’t just that the reason that corporations are pouring unprecedented amounts of money into political ads is because it works, so we are getting the best government that money can buy. It isn’t just because racism and intolerance are alive and well in the US. And it isn’t just because the media has abdicated their vital role.

No, it is because that after all the Hope that was inspired in us for the last election, the voters just don’t care any more. It isn’t Obama that has let us down, we have let ourselves down. We have the power to take back the country from the corporations, but we are too busy eating hamburgers and fries at MacDonalds.