After a 238-day feud over who would be the next state senator of Minnesota, the Republican incumbent, Norm Coleman, finally conceded to his rival, Al Franken, a Democrat, comedian, and political pundit and activist.

For months, it's seemed as if Coleman just didn't want to give in out of principle, despite the increasingly obvious fact that he'd been licked. He waged a nearly tireless legal battle against Franken, and the recount that ensued made that fiasco in Florida back in 2000 look like small potatoes.

But now that it's over, Franken has become the 58th Democrat now serving in the U.S. Senate. Just two more seats and the Democrats will have a filibuster-proof majority -- something that hasn't existed since 1981.

Here Coleman tries to save face by wishing his former rival well, but maintains that he fought a good fight for the past eight months. Maybe he did, but partisan politics aside, if you're done, you're done. Insisting otherwise only slows the machinery of politics and prevents the senator-elect from focusing on the work to be done. Thank god it's over.