Senator Barbara Boxer (L) celebrates with Senator Dianne Feinstein (R) after winning a fourth term, in the Democratic Party headquarters at the Renaissance Hotel in Hollywood on November 2, 2010. The nation's mood was dark as Democrats rallied desperately to defend President Barack Obama and angry Republicans hoped to deliver a crippling rebuke. There was little of the festive atmosphere that swept the country two years ago when Obama was elected the nation's first black US president. The mid-term elections see the lower house of Congress, plus over a third of the Senate and most governors' mansions up for grabs. But many consider the vote is a referendum on Obama himself. AFP PHOTO/Mark RALSTON (Photo credit should read MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images)
