White House blames election results on "anti-incumbent fervor"

White House officials Wednesday defended Democratic setbacks in Tuesday's gubernatorial elections saying the election results weren't a referendum on Barack Obama's presidency, but rather a reflection of voters' concerns over high unemployment and the sad state of the economy, which, apparently, has no connection with the president's economic policies.

However, later in the day, an unidentified White House official came up with a different explanation: He attributed the election results to "anti-incumbent fervor."

The rationale behind his theory - I assume - is as follows:

Voting for a Democrat would be akin to rooting for the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series: Everyone loathes the Phillies because they are the reigning champions, so they root for the Yankees!

From the Politico:

Mike Bloomberg’s stunningly narrow re-election in New York was a ...profound embarrassment for a Democratic establishment – from the White House on down — that abandoned his rival, City Comptroller Bill Thompson, as a hopeless loser.

Bloomberg’s meager five-point win left Democrats pondering what might have been if New York’s Democratic donors hadn’t turned their back on Thompson, if its politicians had worked for him, and most of all if President Barack Obama had offered anything more than the lamest words of praise.

“Maybe one of those Corzine trips could have been better spent in New York. Who knows?" remarked New York Rep. Anthony Weiner, who weighed his own run for mayor, referring to the White House’s devout attention to the New Jersey contest.

“Maybe Anthony Weiner should have manned-up and run against Michael Bloomberg,” shot back a White House official, who attributed the night’s results across the board to anti-incumbent fervor.

But guess who's gonna be the incumbent in the 2012 presidential election?

If you guessed Barack Obama, you are correct....