The beginning of the end and the end of the beginning

Somebody pinch me.

After taking the House - and following Jon Tester's narrow senate victory out in Big Sky Country - it seems that the Democrats are on the verge of something really remarkable.

And, amazingly enough, the decisive tipping-point win seems likely to come from south of the Mason-Dixon (via the Washington Post)....

Webb continued to lead by approximately 7,300 votes with virtually all of Virginia's 2.3 million ballots counted Wednesday evening, and Republicans said there appeared to be little hope that glitches or math errors might uncover new GOP votes. Gillespie said Allen was "realistic," and an e-mail sent late Wednesday said the senator would make a statement "at the conclusion" of the statewide canvass of votes. The e-mail said "more details will follow from the campaign" early Thursday.

Several Republicans who are close to Allen or involved in a potential recount said privately that they doubted Allen could overcome Webb's lead, which stood at 13 times as large as George W. Bush's lead over Al Gore in Florida in 2000.

(Yes, that last figure does seem to have a certain icing-on-the-cake ring to it...no, I haven't gotten over it.)

It seems that - shy of whatever the GOP Dirty Tricks Squad can pull out of their magic bag - AP and MSNBC have already called a Webb victory.

Following their lead, Obscene Desserts now also officially declares Jim Webb the winner.

Congratulations, Senator-elect Webb.

It remains to be seen what effect all this will have. However, one immediate result of the Democratic sweep of 2006 has added further to my delight: the taking of one Donald H. Rumsfeld's scalp.

Of course, no matter how disgraceful his performance in office, how bloody his mistakes, how flippant his attitude toward death and anarchy and how ignominious his departure, he's most likely to leave government only to take up some kind of much higher-paid consulting work for a defence contractor.

Why is it almost impossible to really punish these people? (Rhetorical question. I know why.)

But lest anyone describe the Democratic victory and Rumsfeld's departure as a 'defeat for freedom' and a 'comfort to our enemies', it wasn't al-Qaida which wrote the following:

Rumsfeld has lost credibility with the uniformed leadership, with the troops, with Congress and with the public at large. His strategy has failed, and his ability to lead is compromised. And although the blame for our failures in Iraq rests with the secretary, it will be the troops who bear its brunt.

No. That was Army Times.

So long Don. You bastard.

[UPDATE]: Rumsfeld says Iraq war "complex for people to comprehend." In response, Andrew Sullivan keeps it simple.

[FURTHER UPDATE]: At Slate, Phillip Carter chronicles Rummy's worst mistakes and some of their consequences. Thanks for the memories.