That was actually pretty classy, especially for not demanding a recount.

Not only would the recount not alter the result, but it would be a massive embarrassment for Allen and the RNC, who would probably only gain at most 50 votes (a state-wide recount in VA last year a recount resulted in a 37 vote difference). The GOP may try to spin this as "Look at us, we're gracious in a close loss, unlike Al Gore", but the fact is that unlike Gore they have zero chance of winning through a recount.

My cocka your cocka whats the difference... it ain't the wind its the voters thanks Virginia

And everyone was worried we'd be one short.

Whelp, let's hope that the Dems can show how ludicrously incompetent the Republican congress has been.

I guess it would have appeared childish to spend the next six years claiming the voting machines were rigged and votes were surpressed.

"The bobble" teaches us? What's "the bobble"? Perhaps he said "the babble"?

"I guess it would have appeared childish to spend the next six years claiming the voting machines were rigged and votes were surpressed" - Syngas

'Specially since it appears that the "irregularities" help Burns, but just not enough.

There were plenty of machine problems, especially in minority and low income districts. There was a bomb threat at a polling place in Madison, Wisconsin in a district well known for its left leaning electorate.

Voter suppression is a tactic the GOP has down to a Rove-ish science. Problem with a huge turnout and so many races is it's much harder to suppress enough votes to make a difference.

Wait until 2008, and I'm certain the Republicans will be up to their dirty tricks again, in that one key state, whichever it may be. The GOP under Rove is not stupid. They are looking to 2008 and hoping much as Colbert has so skillfully demonstrated. And the Democrats may very well set them up for it.

I voted for Webb. =) Get the hell out of here Allen.

other than the as usual distasteful mention of religion by a politician pandering to the right, the guy actually said all the right things, and more importantly, he did the right thing. he is right, fighting till x-mas would not be good for the country or the political process.

Adios, macaca. Or whatever your name is.

HAY DEMS DO SOMTHING CAMPAIN FUNDING REFORM! GET THE MONEY LOBBIEST OUT! TRUTH IN CAMPAIN ADS NOW and before they AIR FIX THE VOTING MACHINES! WE LOST ARE DIGINTY WHEN WE ELECTED BUSH! There is no way to leave Iraq with dignity… just get out... over the horizon now!

LOL You guys win and still whine about voter surpression! I love it!

"You guys win and still whine about voter surpression"

So, voter supression is fine so long as it doesn't affect the outcome of the election? Typical ditto-monkey . . .

Editorial Observer In a Gym in Yonkers, a Game of Block the Vote

By LAWRENCE DOWNES Published: November 9, 2006

The generous thing would be to take State Senator Nicholas Spano at his word. It would be to accept that he stands apart from the universe of Republican dirty tricksters who win elections by gaming the system: intimidating voters, stifling turnout among low-income blacks and Latinos, throwing up spurious challenges to legitimate registrations, and ferociously twisting legal technicalities in their favor. Those things may be done elsewhere by other people, Mr. Spano says, but have nothing to do with him.

After seeing what happened on election night at polling places in Yonkers, in a working-class stronghold of his Democratic opponent, the county legislator Andrea Stewart-Cousins, it’s clear that absolving Mr. Spano now would be an act of generosity bordering on stupidity.

The backdrop: Mr. Spano faced Ms. Stewart-Cousins two years ago and beat her by only 18 votes. This year was the nasty rematch, and it ended in a haze of scuzziness and shady behavior clearly designed to deter and disqualify as many votes for Ms. Stewart-Cousins as possible.

About a week ago, lawyers for the Westchester Republicans filed challenges to the registrations of nearly 6,000 voters in the 35th Senate District, saying their addresses didn’t match postal records. Although many such mixed-up registrations are innocent, they take a while to clear up. There was no time for election officials to do anything about the last-minute affidavit dump, and the damage, anyway, was done. A cloud of suspicion now hung over the election, and an entirely conjectural list of suspect names was out there, waiting to be misused.

On Election Day, lawyers working for the Stewart-Cousins campaign were poised for trouble. Much of it was just annoying: At one polling place, voters complained that the lever for Ms. Stewart-Cousins had been immobilized with glue. An off-duty state trooper with a gun reportedly showed up at another polling place, and was shooed away.

The Democrats were particularly on the lookout for efforts to push voters into using paper ballots instead of voting machines. It’s a familiar vote-suppression tactic, since paper ballots are susceptible to technical flaws and are frequently thrown out.

About 4 p.m., the Democrats’ lawyers heard about voting problems in a Police Athletic League gymnasium on North Broadway. I went there and found confusion. A dozen or more poll watchers from the Spano camp, many wearing Yonkers Fire Department shirts and union caps and “I♠NY” buttons, were milling around, mingling with lawyers in suits, and chatting with police officers. The lines for the two election districts were long and slow.

The poll watchers were at the sign-up tables, challenging one voter after another, insisting that their signatures didn’t match the ones in registration books. People with questions couldn’t get them answered because of all the haggling. A nobody’s-in-charge-here frustration floated in the room. I was later told by two voters that one young Republican had been particularly confrontational, cowing his Democratic counterpart and insisting that people use paper ballots when they had no need to do so.

A few in the Spano crew hovered near the voters with spreadsheet printouts marked with names, addresses and party affiliations. The lists may have been culled from the 6,000 affidavits, but I couldn’t be sure without asking. The men said they couldn’t discuss it and referred me to a lawyer present. He said he knew nothing about printouts, but when I asked him to walk with me over to the printout guys, he scuttled out of the gym.

Democratic lawyers were challenging the poll watchers, saying there were far too many — that the law allowed only three per party per election district, and that this crowd included lots of hangers-on and had clearly been assembled for intimidation purposes. A deputy election commissioner was summoned to impose order. She told everyone to form groups on the basketball court: Republicans here, Democrats there, Conservatives there. The Spano camp had 13 (10 Republicans and three Conservatives), so she told the G.O.P. surplus to leave. The Spano team ended up with nine poll watchers to the Democrats’ three, and got a lecture from the commissioner about being reasonable in challenging voters and not intimidating people.

While she spoke, a Republican lawyer interrupted, pointed at the lines in front of the two voting booths and said: Excuse me, but while we’re talking, they’re still voting over there. Is it possible to stop them while we sort this out?

The commissioner said: If you knew the law I wouldn’t have to be here. One more outburst and I’ll have you removed.

I called Mr. Spano that night, and he denied any connection to the gym confusion. He referred me to the letter he had sent to the Board of Elections the week before.

“Nothing should be done to hinder anyone from participating in the election process,” he wrote. “In fact, everything should be done to make our voting process as inclusive as humanly possible.”

The election isn’t over. It’s too close to call. As of yesterday, Ms. Stewart-Cousins had an unofficial lead of more than 2,000 votes, which may grow or disappear as machine tallies are double-checked and provisional and absentee ballots are counted. But whether Mr. Spano wins or loses, his campaign will be tainted by what his followers did at the Police Athletic League gym, and — from what the Democrats say — at several other election districts.

They were not there to help make the voting process as inclusive as humanly possible. They were trying to gum up the works. Mr. Spano may disown them, but they belong to him.

Stupid comment, Syngas.

It's not about winning or losing. It's about a functioning democracy. If the current repub batch weren't such a bunch of crooked, dictatorship-loving, money-grabbing turds it really wouldn't be such a big deal that democrats won. In this country they're all right of center, though. America does not have a true liberal party. And it's not necessarily true that Democrats are holier than thou but, seriously, the crap these repub hacks were pulling is enough reason to get 'em out.

I just hope they can fix the crap.

May I propose a headline for today's news?

Burns, Allen Concede Race: Say Goodnight, Gracie

(bonus fact - within error, it's a valid haiku)

Syngas - Do you know anything about the Diebold machines? Do you know anything about hackers? If you do, that alone should make you more interested in ensuring our democratic process isn't broken. That's not even to mention the fact that the process could be manipulated by one or both parties.

I don't know but I wouldn't be surprised if it was true Daley stuffed the ballot boxes for JFK so, gotta admit, I kind of thought Florida was payback. On the other hand, as Sarah Vowell says, I had a failure of pessimistic imagination as to how much damage Bush could do. And, I think 2004 was another set-up so, enough is enough...let's get voting machines that work.

Yes jillbryant, I know that virtually all kinds of voting methods can be tampered with. I'd even be willing to bet that grass root organizations like ACORN made illegal efforts to alter the outcome of this vote. I do think that overall, we have a pretty good sytem of voting in this country. It's not perfect but its good enough that I trust the outcomes even when my side loses.

You guys have worked hard for the last six years. Why don't you pop open a bottle of champaign and celebrate? All this pessimism can't be good for your health.