Does Political Punditry Have a Shelf Life?

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A failure to recognize an approaching hurricane or a prediction of an apocalyptic snowstorm that proves to be a light dusting are solid indicators that a television meteorologist may soon undergo a career change.

How many swings and misses are boob tube political pundits allowed before a network strips them of their titles and reclaims their ouija boards?

It's an understatement to say that it was a bad night for The Fox News Channel's triumvirate of fair & balanced prognosticators regarding President Barack Obama's relection.

Fox commentator Newt Gingrich, who called Mitt Romney a "vulture capitalist" when he competed against him during the GOP primaries for the party's presidential nomination, nonetheless had predicted a Romney victory in which Romney would capture more than 300 Electoral College votes. On the Wednesday morning talk show circuit, Newt conceded his prediction was wrong, but based on high unemployment figures, expensive gasoline and his reliance on a "historical (voters') pattern." If a history professor like Gingrich can misread historical patterns, can any of us be safe?

Meanwhile, former pollster turned Fox commentator Dick Morris, who had predicted a "landslide" victory for Romney in the popular vote and a garnering or more than 325 Electoral College votes, this morning on talk shows was also astute enough to admit he was incorrect, but attributed his faulty prediction to his reliance on a 2008 voting model that no longer exists.  "TUOL" can imagine an exchange between Morris and Gingrich in the Green Room before their respective appearances on gabfests this morning (Morris: "I can't believe you're a history professor and you didn't tell me that Latinos and people of color were eligible to vote!")

Finally, independent Fox commentator Karl Rove, whose Super PACS raised millions of dollars toward Romney's election, had a Norma Desmond moment on Fox News last night during which he berated colleagues Megyn Kelly and Bret Baier on-air for declaring Obama the winner and assigning blue state status to Ohio too soon.

Apparently, Fox News doesn't require that its pundits be right provided that they're "far right."