What startles in the Karl Rove declaration that there is a “lesson” in the defeat of Christine O’Donnell is that he simply doesn’t get it.

O’Donnell moved the conservative ball in Delaware forward — big time. As with Goldwater in 1964 or Reagan in 1968 and 1976, or Pat Toomey in 2004 and in examples from one end of the country to the other over the years… her decision to not accept the rabid ideology of extreme-statism in GOP clothes has held fast. Mike Castle was not a conservative. End of story. He had every intention of continuing to pursue the statist agenda (Cap and Trade but one item) if elected. He — and his Delaware GOP Establishment supporters — were the real ideologues here. They were and are about power. That’s it. That’s all. Just as is true of Lisa Murkowski in Alaska and so on.

Christine O’Donnell took the heat for conservative principles.

She lost tonight. To which the answer has to be: so what? Was the conservative agenda advanced? Yes. Indubitably yes.

Ms. O’Donnell deserves conservative thanks.

Karl Rove is setting the boundaries for a very serious discussion to come.