Politics

Obama Won’t Call Midterm Loss A ‘Shellacking’ Despite Coining The Term [VIDEO]

Patrick Howley Political Reporter
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President Barack Obama introduced the term “shellacking” into coverage of his political career when he described his loss in the House in the 2010 midterm elections. But Obama did not use the term again when asked Wednesday about the “shellacking” in the midterms Tuesday.

After a Reuters reporter brought up Obama’s 2010 term, Obama said merely that “there’s no doubt that the Republicans had a good night.” By contrast, Obama’s predecessor George W. Bush was fully willing to label his final 2006 midterm defeat a “thumping.”

Republicans gained at least seven Senate seats Tuesday with Dan Sullivan still leading in the vote count in Alaska, and Republican Bill Cassidy likely to win a runoff in Louisiana. Republicans also picked up 12 seats in the House. The GOP gained more Senate seats than it did in 2010, when it picked up six along with 63 new House seats.

The term “shellacking” entered the news cycle before the votes were even tallied. ABC News White House correspondent Jon Karl got the ball rolling when he reported Tuesday that Obama will pass an immigration executive order “no matter how big a shellacking Democrats get tonight.”

The election results confirmed the “shellacking.”

“A Shellacking For Obama” read The Wall Street Journal headline.

MSNBC agreed on the “GOP shellacking,” and MSNBC analyst Eugene Robinson called the midterms “Shellacking, the sequel.”

ABC News talked about “Shellacking 2.0.”

“Obama Doesn’t Call It A Shellacking, But Says Republicans Had a ‘Good Night'” reported Real Clear Politics after Obama’s press conference.

But while Obama wouldn’t get on board with the “Shellacking” line, former President George W. Bush volunteered to call the 2006 midterms, in which Democrats gained six Senate and 31 House seats, as a “thumping.”

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