If you've got a moment away from the mall today, here's yet another national publication chiming in on the Democrats surprising wins in Colorado on Election Day. Says The Nation:

Imagine a parallel universe where, instead of crying in their beer as the election results rolled in on November 2, Democrats were raising microbrews in toasts to their unprecedented success.

To his credit, writer John Nichols does step beyond what's already been written and finds a Western trend that spreads beyond Colorado's borders:

Shifting demographics, local issues and the extent to which the presidential contest was fought out on the ground had varying influences on state results. But there were some constants: Western Democrats tended to abandon the national party's template and focus on local issues, they relied far more heavily on volunteers than paid staff and they worked much, much harder -- and with considerable success -- to attract rural voters.

Read the whole article for more on the trends in Montana, Nevada, Utah, and even Wyoming.