I may agree with #1 if you believe the Democrats were only able to pull it together in the last few weeks by rallying around some major points, like Rush Limbaugh's perceived attack on Michael J. Fox and stem cell, and the GOP's withdrawal of support for key seats, and inability to support even the worst of their own.
The "attack" on MJ Fox drew national attention to a subject that caused people to once again misremember how mean spirited Republicans are. As I pointed out at the time, Republicans would suffer the consequence and we did.
I completely agree with #2. There is no "new media". That's just something catchy to sell blog ads and go to fancy parties hosted by CNN.
Do you suppose the results might of been different if Conservative Talk Show hosts, National Conservative Columnists and supposedly Conservative Websites did not spent 40% or more of their time shooting their own side in the back?