I'm certainly relieved by this outcome. I didn't consider Romney an even minimally honest or trustworthy human being, and the Republicans are not ready to govern. Through 1992, they were (whether one always or even usually agreed with them or not). But then something went badly wrong, having both internal institutional and broader sociological dimensions, and it has just kept on getting worse.
The Republicans are going to have to return to their senses at some point in order for the United States to be governable, but I don't think there's much chance of this happening right away. Even 2016 seems a bit soon. Perhaps by 2020?
One odd feature here is that the perverse internal forces that make the Republicans so unsuited for the exercise of political power can also make it harder for them to win elections. (Think tea party Senate candidates, going to such lengths offend Hispanics, continually banging the drums of war, and making the all-too-pliable Romney adopt far-right tax and regulatory positions.) All this reflects serious incentive problems inside the Republican Party. What's good for various actors in the party, from Fox News on down, often is bad for the party as a whole. Not sure what the solution is, and it's important for all of our sake that they eventually solve it.
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