Checks and balances preserved, for the time being.

A brief respite for the Constitution.

Certain members of the GOP and Dems have signed a deal agreeing that the filibuster will not be eliminated, at least during this session of congress. What a relief.

GOP pundits are soiling themselves (for samples, check here), but they're too shortsighted for their own good. The GOP won't have control forever. The Dems would be furious that the GOP had done what the Dems never did in all their decades of running the Senate: throw away checks and balances. And paybacks can be hell.

For the moment, the Republic remains intact. I guess Karl Rove isn't as powerful a Sith as we thought. This is a major blow (if temporary) for the right-wingers who want to throw out democracy for one-party rule.