Bob Shrum: ‘This Election Was a Typical Midterm Election’

FARROW: "So a blame game beginning there. On the subject of Harry Reid, can he keep his leadership position given these losses?"

SHRUM: "Sure he can. I think he will. Nancy Pelosi I think will keep her leadership position. To blame either of them or the president, or to suggest as your earlier guest did, Hogan Gidley, that somehow this election means that African-Americans are moving toward Republicans, is deluded. Look, this election was a typical midterm election. It has not been since, I guess, Franklin Roosevelt in 1938, that a president in the sixth year of his term has had a Senate held by his own party. So the odds historically were against the democrats. And by the way, Ron’s right about this, too. It wasn’t just in Kentucky where the candidate quality was a real problem. If you look at Iowa where Bruce Braley, who should have walked to the Senate. Bruce Braley got up in what he thought was a private meeting, made fun of farmers, in Iowa. You know, private meeting -- I mean, I think Mitt Romney showed us a couple of years ago there is no such thing as a private meeting."