an icepick through the keyhole

Rush isn't happy because he agrees with the incoming Congress; he's happy because he no longer has to pretend he agrees in order to maintain the party line.

This Congress, I'm sad to say, is the best thing that could have happened to the GOP's chances of holding the White House in 2008. As of Senator Allen's concession, the war is now the Democrats' problem as well, and all of the president's honest efforts to fix things will be thwarted by those evil liberals Reid and Pelosi. Or something like that.

I'm an optimist about national politics—I'm surprised when things get worse.