If you watched the cable networks last night after the Wisconsin recall elections results made it obvious that Scott Walker won decisively over Tom Barrett, you’d have come away with the idea that no one thought this would mean anything in the national election five months from now, or in any other state.  That kind of consensus didn’t always exist.  American Future Fund produced this ad overnight after Walker’s win reminding us what was actually being said before it became plain that Barrett was not going to catch up to Walker:

On the other hand,perhaps a little self-deception is a healthy thing.  Barrett conceded the race to Walker when reality finally dawned, but at least one campaign worker wasn’t ready to admit defeat.  She slapped the Milwaukee mayor for conceding before every ballot was counted:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYPrcqQSsVg&feature=player_embedded

12 News’ Terry Sater just spoke to the mayor about the ‘slap.’ Barrett said the woman asked if she could slap him for conceding. He said he’d rather she hug him. So he leaned down.. and got the slap.

“A woman who had been very angry that the mayor had conceded prior to the polls…all the votes being counted, rather, she was upset with the mayor…she came up and she slapped him and said, ‘How dare you concede, while there are people still trying to vote inside the Ziegler building.’”

“So the polls closed at 8, but there were still people inside the buildings who hadn’t had a chance to vote, so legally they could still vote. So by 8’o clock, it was still an hour and a half later and people are still trying to cast their ballots.”

“This woman is upset about that, and she slapped the mayor. He seemed very stunned by the fact that she had done that. Obviously, some of the passion and disappointment, tonight, coming out through that one woman’s hand and her temper.”

Ed Schultz called the results “a warning” about money in the political system, and railed on about Citizens United:

It’s interesting, is it not, that these same liberals didn’t seem to mind when unions got exempted from the spending limitations that got overturned in Citizens United, eh?  And how about that $600 million spendfest that Barack Obama staged in 2008, when the defender of public financing in presidential elections declined to accept those limitations on himself?  Speaking of which, Jammie Wearing Fool points out the irony of complaints on the Left about money in politics while Obama flew to California for five fundraisers in a single day:

President Obama’s campaign is increasingly focusing its fundraising efforts on California, where Obama on Wednesday will make his third trip in a month to attend five fundraisers.

Silicon Valley and Hollywood are Obama’s hottest spots to raise money, and the spigots have opened wider since Obama last month went public with his personal endorsement of gay marriage, which went over particularly well with California donors.

The president’s trip on Wednesday will be his 16th visit to California since entering office.

To be sure, the Golden State has always been a major cash machine for Democratic candidates — and even some Republicans. Sixteen of Obama’s top bundlers — including DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg  —  hail from California. But the state’s importance to the president has increased as Wall Street has cooled to Obama because of his attacks on Mitt Romney’s private-equity background at Bain Capital.

The Left isn’t sore about spending money.  They’re sore they got beat at the unions’ own game by Republicans.  And now they want us to believe that what had previously been an election that would affect races from President to dogcatcher now means nothing because, er, they lost.  Good luck with that.

Update: Ed Frank brings us Great Moments in Liberal Punditry:

Ready for November? Certainly looks like it!