Election 2009 was a mixed bag for all sides.  Democrats lost the governorship in New Jersey, a "blue" state, and Virginia, a "red" state that had seen two successive Democratic governors.  Maine voters overturned a law passed by the state legislature that allowed same-sex marriage, joining Californians in taking away marriage equality after it had been granted. Yet New York's 23rd Congressional District defeated a Palin- and Beck-backed Conservative Party candidate and sent its first Democrat to Congress since the Ulysses S. Grant administration, and openly gay public officials were elected all over the country. But what did these results have to do with Obama? Our panel agrees on one thing: Democrats neglected the base that Obama worked so hard to build up. Jehmu Greene, of the Women's Media Center and formerly Rock the Vote, notes that Democrats reverted back to the old way of doing things, and Jane Hamsher of FireDogLake points out that the candidate who supported the public option, Bill Owens in NY-23, won, while Creigh Deeds in Virginia, who said he might opt the state out if he was governor, lost. Mark Green of Air America, who once ran against Michael Bloomberg, noted that despite the massive outlay of cash, Bloomberg ran a tight race and could've been defeated if the Democrats put more effort into supporting his opponent. Katrina vanden Heuvel of The Nation notes that the youth vote was critical in 2008, and warns Democrats of what they risk losing if they ignore the young voters now.