So … this article confirms what I most feared, namely that I have been living on a different planet from one of the people running for the highest political office in my country:

Romney was stoic as he talked the president, an aide said, but his wife Ann cried. Running mate Paul Ryan seemed genuinely shocked, the adviser said. Ryan’s wife Janna also was shaken and cried softly.

“There’s nothing worse than when you think you’re going to win, and you don’t,” said another adviser. “It was like a sucker punch.”

Their emotion was visible on their faces when they walked on stage after Romney finished his remarks, which Romney had hastily composed, knowing he had to say something.

Both wives looked stricken, and Ryan himself seemed grim. They all were thrust on that stage without understanding what had just happened.

“He was shellshocked,” one adviser said of Romney.

In all seriousness, I’d be very interested to hear from people who might have information about the McCain, Dole, or Dukakis campaigns and whether they went into the final twenty-four hours with such a firm grip on the notion that they were going to become the next president when, in fact, they were not even close.

HT: Adam Weinstein.