FIRST THOUGHTS: GOP GOVS TAKE THE STAGE

From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Ali Weinberg
CEDAR CREEK, Tex. -- At yesterday's public events at the Republican Governors Association’s annual meeting here just outside of Austin, there wasn’t anything resembling the boisterous Tea Party protests or those summer town halls. There weren't cries about President Obama's "radical" or "socialist" agenda. And there weren't any mentions of Sarah Palin (until a reporter brought her up at a press conference). Rather, the tone at this meeting to celebrate the GOP's gubernatorial wins earlier this month and to look ahead to 2010 was downright restrained and even conciliatory. Asked at the press conference how much national issues influenced his win in New Jersey, Gov.-elect Chris Christie answered, "New Jersey issues were the things that drove the race," while national ones were just "background music." Virginia Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell agreed, "We ran on Virginia issues" -- like jobs, transportation, and taxes.Morehttp://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/11/19/2131891.aspx

FIRST THOUGHTS: GOP GOVS TAKE THE STAGE