Okay, at this point it’s completely unnecessary to say whoever runs the tickers at FOX is dumb as a bag of hammers (how that separates them from the rest of the team eludes me). Still, I think this graphic is worth showing.

Now, I suppose I’m not being entirely fair. After all, this is a perfectly accurate statement. Dennis Hastert will indeed not be running for Minority Speaker. The fact that there is no such position as “Minority Speaker” may be a factor in this.

A teeny tiny hat tip toward AmericaBlog for this. Hotline is a rather reputable source, with some inside-the-beltway knowledge, and they say the GOP is going to push George Allen to resign.

Senior Republican officials and White House aides believe that Webb won the race. Several outside advisers to Allen want him to make the decision quickly; others in his campaign want to make sure that there’s no chance a cache of new votes will turn up. One question: when will (will?) the AP call the race?

Funny they should ask that. The answer is: right about now. Caught this one while watching Olbermann on MSNBC, the Associated Press has called the race for Jim Webb, giving the Democrats an official majority in the Senate.

The Associated Press contacted election officials in all 134 localities where voting occurred, obtaining updated numbers Wednesday. About half the localities said they had completed their postelection canvassing and nearly all had counted outstanding absentees. Most were expected to be finished by Friday.

The new AP count showed Webb with 1,172,538 votes and Allen with 1,165,302, a difference of 7,236. Virginia has had two statewide vote recounts in modern history, but both resulted in vote changes of no more than a few hundred votes.

…

The adviser said that Allen was disinclined to request a recount if the final vote spread was similar to that of election night.

Boom, baby.

I’m not entirely surprised by this one, but I have to admit I’m very pleased by it. While the mantra during the election was that the terrorists would celebrate a Democratic takeover, it seems as though the world in general is happy, with some expectations of the new majority party.

From Paris to Pakistan, politicians, analysts and ordinary citizens said they hoped the Democratic takeover of the House of Representatives would force President Bush to adopt a more conciliatory approach to the globe’s laundry list of crises, and teach a president many see as a “cowboy” a lesson in humility.

…

“We hope American foreign policy will change and that living conditions in Iraq will improve,” said 48-year-old engineer Suheil Jabar, a Shiite Muslim in Baghdad.

In Copenhagen, Denmark, 35-year-old Jens Langfeldt said he did not know much about the midterm elections but was opposed to Bush’s values. He referred to the president as “that cowboy.”

In Sri Lanka, some said they hoped the rebuke would force Bush to abandon a unilateral approach to global issues.

And while the French aren’t exactly popular here in the States, I think this guy put it rather well.

“Americans are realizing that you can’t found the politics of a country on patriotic passion and reflexes,” [teacher Jean-Pierre Charpemtrat] said. “You can’t fool everybody all the time — and I think that’s what Bush and his administration are learning today.”

That’s what we’ve been saying for years now. Our country has been led by fear and, ironically, rebuked the efforts of reason by calling those who support such things “cowards”. Now we’re starting to move in the right direction.

I caught this a few hours ago on FOX (again, I’m watching just to see the squawkboxes squirm), and I must say, Bush’s press conference concerning Rummy’s resignation taught me a few interesting things. One is that Bush is a terrible backpeddler. Recall that last week he said Rummy was staying on board until he left office. Now, check this exchange:

Q Mr. President, thank you. Can I just start by asking you to clarify, sir, if, in your meeting with Steve and Terry and Dick, did you know at that point –

THE PRESIDENT: I did not.

Q — you would be making a change on Secretary Rumsfeld?

THE PRESIDENT: No, I did not. And the reason I didn’t know is because I hadn’t visited with his replacement — potential replacement.

Q But you knew he would be leaving, just not who would replace him?

THE PRESIDENT: No, I didn’t know that at the time.

Q Okay. May I ask you about Nancy Pelosi –

THE PRESIDENT: The other thing I did know, as well, is that that kind of question, a wise question by a seasoned reporter, is the kind of thing that causes one to either inject major military decisions at the end of a campaign, or not. And I have made the decision that I wasn’t going to be talking about hypothetical troop levels or changes in command structure coming down the stretch.

His defense is both that he didn’t want to affect the election and he didn’t know Rumsfeld was leaving. Now this should throw a pretty obvious question into your head: how did he not only decide Rumsfeld had to go but decide on a replacement all at once, and announce it the day after the election? That this was a backburner idea waiting to see if the Democrats took over should be obvious.

The second would be his “didn’t meet with the replacement” thing. That’s completely illogical because if you haven’t decided Rumsfeld is leaving, then there’s no need to look for a replacement. He said it backwards.

The third is that he didn’t want to affect an election. On this point we’re just seeing Bush’s complete refusal to acknowledge reality. The Iraq War is unpopular. Voters are bitter. Rumsfeld is the poster boy of the problems. Did it not occur to him that ejecting Rumsfeld before the election could actually help?

Think about it. The republicans are going down with the ship. They’re losing in great part due to pessimism over the war. If the president said “hey, we need a new direction and a fresh face,” then that could certainly help the republicans keep hold of the moderates. After all, if the complaint is that we need a new direction, what better message than “why change parties? We’re acknowledging problems and changing them!”

Once again, ol’ Bushie’s blockheadedness has screwed his party over, and this time it’s going to trickle over to him.

For the hell of it, I here have the full list of seats that switched blue. Keep in mind the Democrats lost no seats.

House

1. Arizona 05
2. Arizona 08
3. California 11
4. Colorado 7
5. Connecticut 02
6. Connecticut 05
7. Florida 16
8. Florida 22
9. Indiana 02
10. Indiana 08
11. Indiana 09
12. Iowa 01
13. Iowa 02
14. Kansas 02
15. Kentucky 03
16. Minnesota 01
17. New Hampshire 01
18. New Hampshire 02
19. New York 19
20. New York 20
21. New York 24
22. North Carolina 11
23. Ohio 18
24. Pennsylvania 04
25. Pennsylvania 07
26. Pennsylvania 10
27. Vermont 01
28. Wisconsin 08

Governors

1. Arkansas
2. Colorado
3. Maryland
4. Massachusetts
5. New York
6. Ohio

Senate

1. Missouri
2. Montana
3. Ohio
4. Pennsylvania
5. Rhode Island
6. Virginia (it’s gonna happen, dammit)

I believe a “woo-hoo” is in order.

I’ll update as it comes in, but you can bet it’s true. I’m seeing it reported on FOX, of all places. Donald Rumsfeld is resigning. Check the AP bulletin:

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican officials say Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is stepping down. Word comes a day after the Democratic gains in the election, in which Rumsfeld was a focus of much of the criticism of the Iraq war.

My god. The democrats took over the House, the Senate is coming soon, and Donald Rumsfeld is resigning. America, I have faith in you again. And you can bet your ass that this is because of the election, and the fact that Iraq was the most important issue.

I wonder how much of a hand Bush had in this.