Off-year and mid-term elections always command attention, as they should. It is far more interesting to see how people actually vote than to read the entrails of endless public opinion polls, many no more than ephemeral snapshots of sentiment.

So it is this year, with two governorships, one House seat, a handful of mayoralties and referendums to be decided. Disparate as they are, post-election analysis will inevitably focus on how they reflect on the presidency and policies of Barack Obama less than 10 months into his first term and what they imply for the far more important mid-term congressional elections a year from now.