Maybe they just don't want anyone around when they pop the champagne and start playing "Celebration." But if the setup for reporters is any indication, the National Republican Congressional Committee is not looking forward to the press it's going to get tonight. Reporters covering the GOP, including me, are stuck in the lobby shared by the NRCC and the Republican National Committee. There's no access to GOP officials and no schedule for when they will appear to discuss the results. Until 6:30, there wasn't even a TV set up for watching returns. This is not the backdrop for touting a stunning success.

Compare that with the result-watching party the Democrats have only a short distance away. My colleague Silla Brush is at the Hyatt Regency, a few blocks from the Capitol, where the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee jointly have rented out two ballrooms and several filing rooms. TV and radio crews are setting up in front of a large stage, and several podiums are ready for a string of jubilant speakers. Hotel workers in tuxedos are strolling through the Hyatt ballrooms picking up Democrats' plates, while NRCC staffers had to settle for takeout.