This is the circular firing squad in effect; Coakley ran about as bad a campaign as possible (perhaps on par with Rudy’s abortive 2008 presidential bid), and the GOP candidate ran as good a campaign as could be imagined to overcome built in advantages that Democrats have in Mass.

But the blame game started even before the first vote was cast. That’s how I knew that the Democrats’ chances to hold the seat were slipping away. You don’t go casting blame for failure even before the votes are cast - that only adds to the problem you’re trying to avoid.

The spin was already being developed from the White House on down - Axelrod was saying the Brown campaign ran a great race, and Coakley’s people were wondering why the WH didn’t do more to campaign on her behalf.

The WH is probably wondering why Coakley could make so many unforced errors, and why she needed so much help when there were all those advantages built in (which she squandered).

The spin is what it is - each side has to spin things to get what they need out of this mess; the WH needs to distance itself from the mess, while Mass. Democrats need to blame the WH for not doing enough since it would otherwise fall on them for running out a candidate who couldn’t get the job done.

For the GOP, they have to follow the immortal words of Han Solo - “Don’t get cocky, kid!” Run out good candidates who run good campaigns on issues that matter to the wide spectrum of voters, and you can win elections. Cater to a narrow demographic, and you’re not going to win. It’s all about getting the most votes, and Brown hit on a recipe to win in Mass, just as Christie did in NJ - the economy matters, taxes matter, and controlling government spending matters.