What We Learned Tonight

It's 11:30 on the East Coast and we know that Nancy Pelosi will be the next Speaker of the House. That's about all we know. We don't yet know how many of her fellow Democrats will constitute the next House majority, nor do we have any clue whom they will select as their new Majority Leader-- Maryand's Steny Hoyer and Pennsylvania's John Murtha will now square off.

We also have no idea which party will control the Senate-- and with the Virginia race now on its way to a recount, it may be several days. The signs, though, point to a reduced Republican majority, with Democrats falling short in Tennessee and Virginia. However, if the Virginia outcome is reversed -- either in the very late returns (13 precincts from Democrat-rich Richmond have apparently not been counted yet) -- and if Democratis then run the table in Missouri and Montana, they'll have their magic six seats.

So for anyone still reading this, the best advise is to head to your living room, flip on MSNBC, keep your finger on the mute button when Chris Matthews comes on the screen, and have some fun watching the rest of the numbers trickle in.

-- Steve Kornacki