I feel so ... clean!

The purging the country underwent last night was long overdue. It should never have been required, in fact. This bunch of thugs was never legally elected -- not once.

But the American people finally drank the Ipecac last night and rid ourselves of some real bad clams. Things won't suddenly be fixed -- it'll take decades to truly recover from the damage done by Bush Inc. But the bleeding is staunched as the American people finally -- finally! -- turned away from complacency last night.

I feel hopeful about the future of this country for the first time in six years, and that's enough to make one giddy. A whole cabal of crooks, weasels, and liars were shown the door last night, and it now falls to us to keep the new bunch in line, to let them know what we expect of them, and to make damned sure they deliver, in an honorable and ethical manner.

The Republicans certainly don't have the market cornered on mendacity and corruption -- though they made a mighty strong run at it. We've seen in the past that Dems can go bad, too.

But for now, there's optimism in the air, as our great nation wakes up from a long, fitful sleep.