Despite President Obama’s repeated appearances on the campaign trail, Democrats lost both of the gubernatorial elections up for grabs yesterday. Does this mean that the president has lost some of his political clout? Or were local voters simply interested in local concerns? To assess the political implications of the Republican wins in historically blue New Jersey and purple Virginia, we speak to WNYC reporter Bob Hennelly and Washington Post columnist Robert McCartney.

In New York's 23rd, however, weeks of drama culminated in a Democrat taking the historically red congressional district. We speak again with Brian Mann, a reporter with North Country Public Radio.

• Washington Takeout: After the U.S. Chamber of Commerce got punk'd by The Yes Men several weeks ago for their reluctance to get behind climate change legislation, one can understand both Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and our own Todd Zwillich being careful reporting on whether the Chamber might be reconsidering its position on climate change ... for real this time.
• Business Takeout: New York Times finance reporter Louise Story brings details of a new Disney venture in China.
• Sports Takeout: Can the NY Yankees seal the deal on the World Series when the game returns to home turf in the Bronx? Or will the Phillies take the series to a 7th game? Our own Ibrahim Abdul-Matin has analysis and predictions for Game 6 of the World Series.

The CEO of Fiat-Chrysler, Sergio Marchionne, is scheduled to make a major announcement today charting his five-year plan for the struggling car maker. Wes Lutz, the owner of a Dodge dealership in Jackson, Mich., knows nothing about what will be in today's announcement. He's not alone in wondering what's coming next: The company is keeping their plans close to their chest. We also talk to Paul Eisenstein, publisher of The Detroit Bureau, an online magazine covering the American auto industry.

After yesterday's election, Atlanta Councilwoman Mary Norwood and State Senator Kasim Reed will square off in a runoff to become the city's mayor. If she wins, Ms. Norwood would become the city's first white mayor in a generation. William Boone is a political science professor at Clark Atlanta University, and he gives us a look at the role of race in the city's mayoral contest.

Voters in Maine voted yesterday to revoke gay marriage in the state. Opponents of gay marriage frequently bring up the hypothetical effects of gay parenting on kids as a reason to deny gay couples the right to marry. At this point we don't have to rely on hypotheticals, however: We now have a generation of kids who have grown up with gay parents and can speak for themselves. One of those kids, Becca Lazarus, tells us about her life with two gay dads, while New York Times Motherlode writer Lisa Belkin explains the results of recent research.

Yesterday, Berkshire Hathaway, the investment vehicle of billionaire Warren Buffett, announced it is buying up the remaining shares of railroad company Burlington Northern. It's a big bet on American rail, and a big bet on the American economy. It's also a telling sign of Buffett's belief that Americans aren't quite ready to go green, since almost half of Burlington Northern's cargo last year was coal. We speak to Phillip Longman, senior research fellow at the New America Foundation and author of “The Next Progressive Era: A Blueprint for Broad Prosperity.” Also with us is T.J. Stiles, author of “The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt.”

• Listener Takeout: Listeners respond to our story about the increased numbers of people receiving food stamps with their own tales of what it's like to live with government food assistance.
• Business Takeout: New York Times finance reporter Louise Story explains why October retail sales numbers point to a profitable holiday spending season.
• Sports Takeout: Tonight is Game Six of baseball's World Series. The NY Yankees lead the series 3-2 as the games head back to Yankee Stadium in New York. The Takeaway's sports contributor, Ibrahim Abdul-Matin, gives us his take on both teams' ability at playing offense.

Moderate Republican Dede Scozzafava dropped out of the race for the Congressional seat in New York's 23rd District after Republican pundits and voters flocked to the more conservative candidate, Doug Hoffman. Scozzafava eventually endorsed the Democrat's candidate in the race, Bill Owens, who won the election last night. The odd saga raised questions about what kind of future moderates have within the GOP.

We talk to former Rep. Chris Shays (R-Conn.), who was once the face of a now-nearly-extinct group: moderate Republicans in the Northeast. He was in office from 1987 until his defeat in 2009, and is now on the board of directors of the CIT Group and co-chair of the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan. (Click through for a full interview transcript.)

Thirty years ago today, Iranian students seized the U.S. embassy in Tehran. Fifty-two hostages were held for 444 days. Barry Rosen was a State Department press attaché in Tehran in 1979 and was one of the hostages held by the students. He joins us with a look at the hostage taking that changed the U.S. political landscape and the implications for modern Iran.

For more about this pivotal point in U.S.-Iranian history, here is part I of Voice of America's documentary:

It's six o'clock and the dinner bell is tolling, but your refrigerator is filled with nothing but the detritus of dinners past. Fear not! The Takeaway is here with food writer Cecilia Hae Jin-Lee, author of the forthcoming book “Quick and Easy Korean Cooking.” She gives us international ideas for turning leftovers into gourmet fare.

If you've got old tortillas, leftover rice or stale bread, click through for Cecilia Hae Jin-Lee's recipes for Turkey Chilaquiles, Kimchi Fried Rice and Chocolate Bread Pudding.