The Republicans lost two Senate races, those in Missouri and Indiana, that they probably should have won. What does this say about the tactics, strategy, and identity of the Republican Party? Julian Zelizer is a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University. He is a historian of the conservative movement in American.

For the Democrats, the conventions have an incredible history of foretelling the party’s direction and creating the biggest stars. Julian Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University, explains.

Historically, candidates have used the publicity afforded by the national conventions as an opportunity to define, or to redefine, their campaign to the American public. The Takeaway takes a look back at notable speeches of conventions past.

At fundraisers, the President Obama has said that the entire message of his opponent’s campaign can fit on a bumper sticker, or in a tweet: "It's Obama's Fault." The Obama campaign, on the other hand, has a more nuanced story to push on voters, and that puts them at a disadvantage.

Tuesday night’s state of the union address will be a prime-time assessment of the nation's policy, economy and infrastructure and a laundry list of Administration policy goals set for the future. It will also serve as the opening salvo to President Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign. To look at the State of the Union as prime time electioneering is Julian Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University.

Soon, there will be several changes at the top levels of the Obama administration. Following the November elections, the White House’s top economic advisor, Larry Summers, will return to his position as a professor at Harvard University; Herbert Allison also announced he would step down as the Treasury Department’s assistant secretary for financial stability. Perhaps less surprising is the much rumored, though finally announced, departure of White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, in October.

Without enough votes in the Senate to revote on a modified bill and pass health care reform, the Democratic Party may resort to using a 1974 budgetary law known as reconciliation. The process protects the bill from filibusters that require a 60-vote majority to end debate, and would instead allow the bill to pass by a simple majority.

A new CNN poll finds that 86 percent of Americans think that government is broken. This week, we kick off a series called "Frustration Nation," where we examine the gridlock in the capital and how politics has come to be so divisive in America. For the first installment, we put today's situation in a historical context.

The election of Republican Scott Brown as Massachusetts' new junior senator on Tuesday night sent shock waves through Washington. Politicians of on both sides of the aisle flocked to microphones to give their takes on the future of health care reform now that the Democrats no longer have the Senate 60 votes needed to avoid a filibuster. But how did we come to expect a 59-vote majority as a bad thing? We look at the history of the supermajority.

The Senate has voted on its version of health care reform just hours before the start of the Christmas holiday. But even after months of tense negotiating, Senate Republicans are still not pleased with the legislation. We check in with Mary Agnes Carey, senior correspondent for Kaiser Health News, to get the latest before the vote.

We also look back at the road to this Senate vote, and just how much this bill has been shaped by the threat of a filibuster. Once a rare form of running down the clock and making it harder to let the majority party run the show, the filibuster is now used so frequently that some wonder whether or not the U.S. Senate is being held hostage by members who delay, delay, delay. We talked with Julian Zelizer, a congressional historian and author of "Arsenal of Democracy: The Politics of National Security - From World War II to the War on Terrorism." Former Senate Republican Whip Alan Simpson also joins us to talk about the filibuster's undeniable hold on our lawmakers.

Last week, opponents of healthcare reform began their most recent strategy: raucous shout-downs at town hall meetings with U.S. senators and representatives. Tonight, President Obama is holding his first town hall meeting since the protests hit the news. The president will try to sell his plan to ordinary Americans in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. We talk to Corey Lewandowski, who is organizing a protest in Portsmouth this afternoon. Princeton historian Julian Zelizer joins us to look at the role of grassroots protests in the current healthcare debate and throughout history.