Every election seems to bring with it a torrent of wild extrapolation, and last night’s was no different. On Twitter, and beyond, elated Democrats were quick to draw all sorts of conclusions that do not seem to be supported by the evidence. Among them, that Alabamians are now comfortable with the progressive platform in toto:

Then there was this article from Slate, titled “Maybe Doug Jones Should Run for President.” Again, I’ll save you the click: “Here is a man from an extremely conservative Southern state who has not taken policy positions that will turn off Democratic primary voters.” Indeed. But to conclude that Doug Jones had the magic policy mix — rather than that he was running against the most toxic candidate in recent American history — is foolish. Only in the rarest of races will a Democrat be competitive in a state-wide election in the Deep South.

Democrats can — and should — celebrate this victory, but for the right reasons. Based on these reactions, many on the Left do not really understand what happened here.