;Dan Bice (pictured) is a good investigative reporter, and often gets credit here for scoops that expose what's going on beneath the surface.
But his skills at political analysis need some sharpening. And when he's wrong, he gets No Quarter here.
His Winners and Losers column after Tuesday's recalls could not have been more simplistic: Republicans win, Democrats lose.
No reflection on the fact that the six recalls were all fought on Republican turf, that Dems won one seat that has been Republican for 75 years, that right-wing groups spent as much or more than the unions to keep a 17-16 majority.
Two of the six seats on the line Tuesday -- Robert Cowles's and Sheila Harsdorf's -- probably never were within reach, and the final margins reflect that.
And, yes, the Dems over-hyped their chances, even talking about a 6-0 sweep, which was never in the cards.
But Dems did take two seats in GOP districts where the incumbents survived Obama's 2008 landslide, and threw a scare into two others. Luther Olsen was the most likely third victim, but that was uphill and Alberta Darling's seat was even more of a stretch.
Do we wish we had won three? Of course. But it's hardly grounds for Bice's wholesale writing off of the effort and the Dems chances in the future.
When it comes to analysis, Dan, you make a good investigative reporter. Let's have lunch. Your treat, of course.