Click on the Russian-language version of the campaign Web site of Benjamin Netanyahu, the conservative Likud leader running for prime minister of Israel, and up pops a picture of him with Barack Obama. On the Hebrew version, Mr. Obama is not pictured. But he is, in fact, everywhere.

Here's the main thought Republicans are consoling themselves with these days: Notwithstanding President-elect Barack Obama, a nearly filibuster-proof Democratic majority in the Senate and the largest Democratic majority in the House of Representatives since 1993, the United States is still a center-right country. Sure, voters may be angry with Republicans now, but eventually, as the Bush years recede and the GOP modernizes its brand, a basically right-tilting electorate will come back home. Or, in the words of the animated rock band the Gorillaz, "I'm useless, but not for long/The future is comin' on."

Cornell University sits on East Hill and Ithaca College looms on South Hill. Along the streets below, a palpable energy and an eclectic spirit run through Ithaca’s neighborhoods and along the lakefront of this small city in central New York. Sitting at the southern end of Cayuga Lake, Ithaca is the urban capital of the Finger Lakes, a region that lures second-home owners, retirees and tourists with the city’s sophistication, the area’s natural beauty and a thriving wine industry.