Republicans must be ecstatic that the National League pulled off a 3-1 upset victory in the MLB's All-Star game. Why? According to analysis by Smart Politics, a National League victory has preceded the last nine times that Republicans have staked a double-digit gain in the House of Representatives. That odd, wonky coincidence may have Democrats a bit unnerved (if they weren't already after Gibbs and Kaine's pessimism), but it doesn't end there: "National League All-Star game victories have not just preceded the Republican tsunamis of 1966, 1980, and 1994 - but have occurred each and every time the GOP has scored double-digit gains in the U.S. House since 1950." Watch out, Nancy Pelosi.

Of course, given the American League's recent dominance, Democrats at least have this statistic going for them:

Meanwhile, all five election cycles in which Democrats won five or more Senate seats since 1948 were preceded by American League victories that July (1948, 1958, 1986, 2006, 2008).

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Erik Hayden