Who IS Ken Mehlman's Dope Dealer????

Over the last two years, you and millions of others from across our great nation banded together to support our Party. I am well aware how much each and every one of you dedicated yourselves to this cause, and I know that yesterday's results included many disappointments. On behalf of the President and the Party, I thank you.

Some may wonder if the extraordinary efforts - walking door-to-door, making calls, registering new voters, volunteering at headquarters, stuffing envelopes - were worth it. I want to tell you something I believe with all of my heart: you made an important difference. Our Party and our cause were worth the effort in 2006. Your hard work and dedication helped us retain many seats and will pay dividends in 2007 and beyond.

Our messages of expanding freedom at home and defending freedom abroad persist as the right answers for our nation. Indeed, many of the Democrats who won yesterday embraced our platform and our values. Last night, however, the voters sent a message, and we need to make sure we receive that message loud and clear. We need to recommit ourselves to conservative reform. Our leaders must work to provide bipartisan solutions to the challenges facing our country, and demonstrate the highest standards that our Party expects and the nation deserves.

Going into the 2006 cycle, we knew that we faced an enormous challenge. The party of the incumbent President typically loses 29 House seats and three Senate seats during the second midterm. Since World War II, this average loss is even higher. And in wartime, midterm losses are equally high.

So we faced an historic challenge - and we were not able to overcome it yesterday. But adversity is no excuse.

Our party is built on ideas and values that transcend any one election. The principles of Lincoln and Reagan remain alive and well in the policies of our President, and will persist in the face of a loyal Democratic opposition, as they did throughout the Gipper's two terms. We will recruit a new generation of candidates, continue to improve our party's operations, bring new faces and voices into our party, and reengage in the battle for our countrymen's hearts and minds, stronger than ever. Our leaders will redouble their efforts to enact a conservative agenda and make us proud.

Your commitment is about more than politics. It is about more than Party. It is about our philosophy, our nation, and our future. And that is why your involvement over the last two years was so important ... and your involvement over the next 727 days is even more so.

So please accept the thanks of a grateful President and a grateful party. It's time to regroup. And then let's get back to work.
( email - emphasis mine )