Dan Casey is The Roanoke Times' metro columnist.

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@roanoke.com
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Dan Casey

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Ah, the day after an election. Everything looks so clear and so obvious, you know?

There is plenty of nerdy election analysis from political pros elsewhere in the paper.

So here is some of the barroom-type stuff:

• Creigh Deeds ran the worst statewide Democratic campaign in more than a decade.

How do we know? Rather than leading the ticket, the gubernatorial candidate pulled thousands of fewer votes than ticket mates Jody Wagner and Steve Shannon -- two warm bodies most Virginia voters had never even heard of before.

The Rev. Morris Fleischer of Christiansburg, no Bob McDonnell fan, summed up Deeds best on my blog: "He ran such an inept campaign, I questioned his ability to run the state as governor."

• At least Democrats will be able to drown their sorrows with liquor in Gretna restaurants. Residents of that Pittsylvania County town gave booze-by-the-drink a nod. Sunday sales of beer and wine in northwestern Pittsylvania County passed, too.

That makes Pittsylvania County sound like an ideal place to invest in a liquor store. Our governor-elect may be selling liquor licenses down there soon to pay for roads. Really.

• It's unclear exactly when governor-elect Bob McDonnell will take a gubernatorial victory lap with patron Pat Robertson on the Christian Broadcasting Network's "700 Club."

But that TV show will definitely be worth watching, just to hear the aging televangelist call our next governor "Bobby" -- as he did after McDonnell won the attorney general's seat.

• In Blacksburg, the future of additional drive-through fast-food stands and big-box retailers appears dim. But tofu is selling out in the grocery stores and hopes for more bike lanes are soaring. Tuesday's election preserved a "smart growth" majority on town council despite opponents' attempts to brand certain candidates as "anti-growth" ex-hippies.

• In Roanoke County, Hollins District voters said "we don't give a darn if our supervisor really lives in our district or not." They re-elected Supervisor Richard Flora, who spends a lot of time at his girlfriend's Catawba District patio home.

• Roanoke voters spoke loudly, too. Roughly 58 percent cast ballots against Sheriff Octavia Johnson, whose department put live humans next to targets on a range during shooting exercises earlier this year.

Johnson managed to hang onto her office only because Democrat Frank Garrett and independent Brian Keenum split the anti-Johnson vote. The not-exactly outspoken sheriff ducked reporters after her "victory."

• In Richmond, attorney general-elect Ken Cuccinelli hinted he would gear up his legions of lawyers to file lawsuits against the oppressive federal government.

Along with Republicans, journalists across Virginia lustily cheered his victory. He'll generate enough news to keep most of us employed for the next four years.

• Last but not least, politics junkies, don't worry about postelection withdrawal.

Republican pinup model and ex-vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin will visit the Star City on Nov. 22 on her "Going Rogue" book tour. Yippee! They will have to clear out half the parking lot at Valley View Mall to handle her crowd.

• For those of you who could care less, there's this bright side: Those incessant campaign commercials and irritating robocalls are over, at least for a couple of years.

That may be the best news yet.