Over at HA, Darryl goes to the polling data to make the obvious point:

In the coming weeks, I’m sure we’ll see many hypotheses and analyses, and proposed turning points where the momentum was lost and Romney’s fate was sealed.

But here’s the fact: Romney lost because he was never ahead in the election. Unlike McCain in 2008, Romney was always losing the 2012 election.

This election was no spectacular loss. It was the ordinary loss of a candidate who was always behind. Period.

The aggregate polling data pegged Tuesday night's outcome almost to the decimal point, and it never, ever, ever showed Mitt Romney with a lead. Not once. Republicans can blame Romney's defeat on Superstorm Sandy and Hurricane Christie all they want, but he was already well on his way to defeat.