A “White House ally” reacting to the brutal losses in the off-year elections on Tuesday night tells Politico Playbook that “it’s not doomsday, but the tea leaves are not good.” The Beltway insider-scoopy newsletter then writes that “Republican strategists spy a Democratic voter base now more motivated than their own, and swing voters who feel the president has not delivered on his cost of living pledge.” Said laundry, shaving, and shampoo-averse podcaster Steve Bannon after the gloomy results poured in: “The midterms start tonight and the warning signs are flashing.”