The Patriot Post® · Wednesday Short Cuts

For the record: “[I]ssues matter. Remember that Hillary Clinton’s poll lead began to decline before FBI Director James Comey’s Oct. 28 announcement of the reopening of the Clinton secret email system investigation; it began with the announcement of the big Obamacare premium increases. Barack Obama has never sweated much about the details — accepting dysfunctional provisions of Obamacare, conceding almost every point in the negotiation of the Iran nuclear deal — but it turns out that details can matter.” —Michael Barone

Upright: “There is a measure of real justice in America’s rejection of Hillary Clinton. The electorate has directly and intentionally rebuked her corruption, her double standards, and her arrogance. This election was less about the love of Trump (though many millions do certainly love him) than it was about rejecting the colossal hubris of the progressive establishment. This is a good thing, a very good thing indeed.” —David French

Ungracious: “Well folks, I know you’ve been here a long time and it’s been a long night and it’s been a long campaign, but I can say we can wait a longer, can’t we? … Everybody should head home. You should get some sleep. We’ll have more to say tomorrow.” —John Podesta, standing in for Hillary, who refused even to address her supporters

That’s certainly not what Dems were portraying: “[O]ur democracy has always been rowdy and raucous. We’ve been through tough and divisive elections before and we’ve always come out stronger for it. Remember, no matter what happens, the sun will rise in the morning and America will still be the greatest nation on earth.” —Barack Obama

Rare straight talk: “To put it bluntly, the media missed the story. In the end, a huge number of American voters wanted something different. And although these voters shouted and screamed it, most journalists just weren’t listening. They didn’t get it. … The strange thing, of course, is that the media helped to give Trump his chance.” —liberal Washington Post columnist Margaret Sullivan

And last… “An important lesson is that yelling ‘Bigot!’ doesn’t cause white people to magically disappear.” —Frank Fleming