The Hiller Instinct: Knockout Punch

The biggest winner, of course, was Mitt Romney. And he created another winner when he held up an early edition of the Boston Herald, which backed him during the campaign. No surprise, the Herald featured the photo on the front page of its later editions.

Another big winner was Duncan, the basset hound, who played O'Brien in the most memorable ad of the campaign. And you could call secretary of state Bill Galvin a winner, too. He finessed a problematic incident at a polling place, keeping his hopes of someday becoming governor himself on life support.

This race produced a parade of losers.

Sen. Edward Kennedy (D) Massachusetts, Monday
"Eight years ago we whipped Mitt Romney and we're going to do it again tomorrow."

Topping the loser list is Senator Ted Kennedy, who lost prestige and much of whatever magic dust may still be left on the Kennedy mystique.

Senator John Kerry was a loser, too. Now when he runs for president, Republican Romney will be able to undercut him. How long do you think it will take for Romney to remind the nation that Kerry was Mike Dukakis' lieutenant governor?

And add Boston Mayor Tom Menino to the loser list. He dreams that the Democrats will hold their next national convention here, but do you think they're coming to a state with a Republican governor? I don't.

Another big loser is big labor, which promised a much bigger turnout for O'Brien than it delivered on election day.

But in the end, the losers don't out number the winners, because I'd argue that millions of Massachusetts citizens won last night. No matter which party it is, one party government becomes oppressive and arrogant. Romney's election keeps two parties alive in this state... barely, but alive.