After all that has happened, the Alabama Senate race appears to be reverting to a fundamental political truth: A state that is one of the most Republican in the nation is likely to vote Republican.

Of course, there is still the possibility of some new and devastating sexual misconduct revelation about GOP candidate Roy Moore. But there is an increasing sense that the old and devastating sexual misconduct revelations are receding into the distant past of two weeks ago. Now, Moore is recovering in the polls and more Alabama voters seem comfortable with the idea of voting for him.

Part of that is because of the voters’ long familiarity with Moore. For his supporters, the allegations did not seem to fit the man they admired. Something similar could be said of independents and even those Alabamians who see Moore as a Bible-thumping fanatic; the allegations did not seem to fit the man they hated. Neither recognized the Moore they thought they knew in stories in the Washington Post and other outlets that published allegations against Moore.