A roomful of sad Republicans

The mood at the Republican gathering in Irvine, CA, the so-called “Victory Party”- gone wrong was bleak.

The tent at the Hyatt-Regency was sparsely populated. Faces were turned down.

But, it didn’t come as a surprise.

“I came here to commiserate with my friends,” one guy said, who declined to give his name.

I asked one man, who was watching when Fox News announced that Obama had won, if he had been holding out hope. He had been. He also didn’t want to talk to me. He and his friend took off for the bar, but not before he muttered, “There are usually more people at these things.”

The crowd stood silently during John McCain’s concession speech. The only moment that they showed any emotion at all was when McCain thanked Gov. Sarah Palin’s contribution to the ticket. At this, they erupted in spontaneous applaus.

Three people tonight have told me that Palin will be back. But no one would say whether that was the direction they wanted the party to go in. The refrain is still, “She energized the base.” Perhaps it is too soon.

My commiserating friend summed up the Republican perspective best:

“It is what it is.”

Tags: election night, foxnews, it is what is is, republicans