All right, then... What now?

Well, I've been up since 5am, and it's now almost 6. From what I've been seeing, Republicans have lost the House, and the Allen-Webb battle is too close to call (although Mr. Webb appears to have the edge).

All right. Fine. This is not the End of the World™, and life will go on. I daresay that the Democrats will be ecstatic, and a few may even be obnoxious about it - again, fine. America went to the polls, and this is what America has decided it wants.

I don't have the right words myself, but a very gracious, wise, and eloquent man whom I deeply respect does:

My friends, this is time to make a choice. We have suffered a very large defeat tonight, and there is nothing now that we can do about that except decide on how we wish to face it. We have been given an opportunity to show what losing with honor should look like. Do not wail and cry. Do not shout CHEATERS! or whine about media coverage. And most especially do not blame the American people. They are not idiots and they are not sheep. Iraq is not lost, the War on Terror goes on and despite what you may be feeling right now, there will not be any US helicopters evacuating stragglers off the roof of the US embassy in Baghdad...not tomorrow or any other day. That war was won on a November night two years ago. Trust me on this one, if you can, and if you cannot then at least do not despair. Maybe now we will realize that selling this war is as important as fighting it. In that regard I've been AWOL and I am ashamed.

We have to accept the fact that the conservates we sent to Congress in 1994 became the bloated, earmarking, tone-deaf toads of 2006. They thought they could do whatever they wanted, regardless of what their constituients think, and now they have been reminded of just who is working for whom. [emph mine - Kat] Remedying that sense of isolation and disconnect and unchecked power is why we have elections in the first place, and as to the consequences of it, we have no one to blame but ourselves. That imperial attitude is not unique to Republicans or Democrats. That is human nature, and correcting the excesses of human nature only becomes more costly and painful the longer is allowed to go on. Democracy is error-correcting. Ask John Kerry.

...

I wish to tell my friends to be cheerful and especially to be of good will. Disappointments come and go, but honor and integrity will be there when the stars grow cold. We have lost the election, so let us maintain our courage, our dignity and our sense of humor, and let us take this moment to reflect upon how our actions have fallen short of our ideals. And then, finally, let's act like the Americans we are, roll up our sleeves and start fixing these probelms. We who have survived Civil War, the Nazi's and the Communists can probably manage to find a way to preserve the Republic in the face of Speaker Pelosi.

America is not only much, much stronger than you imagine; it is stronger than you CAN imagine.

Bill Whittle.

I enjoyed the interview he had with Kender last night, and I even had the honor of personally expressing my gratitude to Bill for his eloquence and stubborn optimism in the American people. One thing he said struck me in particular: He said he was glad the United 93 wasn't packed with Marines. He was glad that United 93 had only ordinary, everyday American citizens - and that their simple, straight-forward courage is the true stamp of our citizens. And because of that, he says, America is strong.

So, am I going to pitch a fit if the vote count shows my guy didn't win? No. Am I going to descend into ad hominem attacks? No. Am I going to continue to live my life in freedom and duty? Yes. Life goes on, my friends, and - believe it or not - politics is NOT the be-all and end-all of the Universe.

... And there will always be another election.... ;-)

(UPDATE) Ah. And Bill updates his post this morning with:

"Americans can always be counted on to do the right thing...after they have exhausted all other possibilities." -- Winston Churchill

Welcome to the process of exhausting all other possibilities. This is where we separate the men from the boys. Pick a line and stand in it.

Yup.