You walk into the lavish lobby of the Grand America hotel, and you have to look around to find the party going on.

Of course, the Utah Republican Party doesn't have as much to celebrate as the Democrats a few blocks away.

The Utah Republicans defended their two congressional seats, and got Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. and attorney general Mark Shurtleff re-elected. But with Utah going for John McCain, while the majority of the nation went to Barack Obama, there wasn't the same cheering and exuberance that the Democrats were feeling.

There was plenty of hand-shaking, like when Huntsman ran into Utah's newest congressman, Jason Chaffetz. But seldom have a group that have won so much acted like they lost.

The vibe was also less gracious. While the Utah Democrats listened - and largely applauded - McCain's concession speech, the Utah Republicans missed a large chunk of Obama's victory speech a half-hour later. Instead, they heard from Utah's newest congressman, Jason Chaffetz, who prefunctorily acknowledged Obama's victory and then made this promise: "I will fight tooth and nail to reject socialism."

That's reaching across the aisle for you.

Labels: Barack Obama, Jason Chaffetz, John McCain, Jon Huntsman, politics