FUNDAMENTALLY TRANSFORMED: Obama Legacy in State Offices: A Shrinking Democratic Share. “While Mr. Obama’s 2008 election helped usher in a political resurgence for Democrats, the president today presides over a shrinking party whose control of elected offices at the state and local levels has declined precipitously. In January, Republicans will occupy 32 of the nation’s governorships, 10 more than they did in 2009. Democratic losses in state legislatures under Mr. Obama rank among the worst in the last 115 years, with 816 Democratic lawmakers losing their jobs and Republican control of legislatures doubling since the president took office — more seats lost than under any president since Dwight D. Eisenhower.”

If the GOP is thinking of passing constitutional amendments, things are looking propitious. Plus: “The average age of the three top Democratic leaders in the House is 75, while the three most senior Republican leaders — with the new speaker of the House, Paul D. Ryan — average 48 years old. . . .In the Democratic presidential race, Hillary Rodham Clinton is 68; Bernie Sanders, the senator from Vermont, is 74; and the biggest intrigue had been whether Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., who turns 73 next week, would join them.” Martin O’Malley is 52, but he barely counts.

Related: DeBlasio’s Progressive Advocacy Group Gets Tepid Response. “Addressing members from around the country, Mr. de Blasio spoke of preparing for a sustained war on inequality — the very topic of the Dec. 6 forum, which organizers believed would be a harbinger of the group’s intent to play on the national stage. Those plans collapsed this week. The de Blasio-backed group canceled its event, explaining in a statement that it would redirect its energies into other methods of tackling inequality. On Wednesday, Mr. de Blasio, a Democrat, acknowledged a more humbling reality: Not a single presidential candidate had agreed to attend.”