One of the noisiest partisans out there, Atrios, has indicated in a post on his blog that his relentless cynicism may be thawing slightly:
"I suppose it'll be time to shift gears soon. I've long said on this blog that much public discussion of wonkery was largely wankery, as with Democrats out of power and with the way Republicans treated the minority party, especially in the House, None Of It Was Actually Going To Happen.
But, now, that's going to change. There's some slight chance we can start having grownup conversations about real policies. I'm not super optimistic that much good can happen over the next couple of years, between bare control in the Senate, obstinate blue dog Democrats in the House, and of course Bush's inevitable newfound love of the veto. However, at the very least some decent legislation - both small and big - can at least be proposed, discussed, and taken seriously."
This is a good sign. Maybe we will in fact be able to get past the bile of the past six years if even the hard core partisans are sensing a change in the wind. It's nice to feel some hope that we'll be able to get things on track.