Without drawing too many conclusions one way or the other, this NYT story from Nov. 5, 1992, could help dispirited Republicans gain some perspective:

The Democrats came out of the political wilderness on Tuesday. The Republicans entered it.

The Democrats set aside all the self-doubts, the years of feeling on the wrong side of history, the election nights when the proud party of Roosevelt, Truman and Kennedy seemed consigned to a painful irrelevance.

Ahead is the challenge of governing, and the clear accountability that comes with controlling both Congress and the White House. No more political cover for the Democrats, no more room for fingerpointing between Capitol Hill and the White House, no more excuses.

But the Republicans face the hard, brutal struggle of deciding who they are, resolving the tensions between moderates, conservatives, evangelical Christians, country-clubbers, supply-siders, suburbanites -- all the disparate elements held together by Ronald Reagan that collapsed under President Bush.

No historical parallel is perfect, as 2008 is not 1992 in many ways. But, as one of my political mentors once explained, the best you can hope for in politics is to get 51% of what you want. Sometimes it might seem like you got more, sometimes less, then reality hits. Point being, it's never as bad as you think it is the day after, and, for the Democrats today, never as good.

(HT: Robert Bluey)