Wow, what a surprise.

No, really. I actually agree with pretty much every word Ruben Navarrette writes here. I'd be interested to know which of the "gaggle of right-wing radio talk show hosts" have been "discourteous and childish" towards Christine O'Donnell, though; as far as I can tell, all of the Big Three talkers on WOAI every day -- Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity -- enthusiastically support her. One of the reasons for that is that she was NOT anointed by the establishment. And then, as Navarrette points out, "It also didn't help (Mike) Castle with GOP primary voters that he has been seen over the years drifting to the Democratic side of the aisle."

What I'd like to know is, if O'Donnell's too conservative for Delaware, how exactly DID she manage to win? Do moderate Republicans in Delaware really hold such weak beliefs in their principles that they won't get off their asses and support people like Mike Castle on the primary level? (You can say the same vis-a-vis Lisa Murkowski and Joe Miller in Alaska.) It's not as if no one saw it coming. The writing has been on the wall AT LEAST since Scott Brown took Teddy Kennedy's Senate seat back in January. Moderate supporters have had almost a year to open their eyes to what's going on, and still their preferred candidates went and are going down in flames. It strikes me that all those people saying candidates like Joe Miller and Christine O'Donnell can't win are whistling past the graveyard.

UPDATE: Quote of the day from blog-friend and fellow San Antonian Scott Chaffin, about what O'Donnell said on Bill Maher's show 11 years ago...

"Speaking as about a red-dirt, black-clay, gun-hugging, Jesus-loving, Constitutional-demanding mustachioed redneck with enough ammo in my garage to cause Bill F***ing Maher to faint, I can’t find myself possibly giving one lousy Mexican centavo about what is uttered in the Evil Dwarf’s presence on a show distinctly labeled Politically Incorrect, in which youthful persons of the teevee-lens seeking variety are encouraged to sit around and utter vapid bullshit for the poli-dorks sitting at home watching a show called Politically Incorrect....

"Can you seriously not see that you’re doing nothing but taking the Tiny Man Maher’s bait? Really? But screw that, that’s your problem. Mine is — are you that fucking dumb? Al Fucking Franken is a senator, and I’m supposed to reject Christine O’Donnell over a Bill Maher scripted set-piece of dipshittery? Give me a break, turn off your idiot box, read a book."

Wise advice, my friend, wise advice indeed.