* Disappointment rife among Euro leftists:

“The most striking feature of the [recent] election results . . . is the fact that the center-left parties across Europe, the Social Democrats and Socialists, have not been able to give a plausible answer, political answer, to the economic crisis,” said Thomas Klau of the European Council on Foreign Relations.

Have they tried David Axelrod?  He’s good with political answers, and in a pinch could send someone over.