Election 2006: Quick Hits

• George Allen's Senate race concession speech was awfully feisty. He barely mentioned that overused keyword these days - bipartisanship - and went on about God, the Bible, and "new chances" - all while presenting a grim and angry look upon his face. By pandering to his still-strong conservative base there is no doubt that he will re-enter politics very soon.

• Anyone think of filibusters in all of the post-election hoopla? The GOP will need them as the minority party in the Senate. They must be extremely relieved that their "nuclear option" against them didn't materialize in '05. Most pundits - and certainly not the Republicans - never even thought of the chance that the GOP would be hurting themselves down the line if they pulled a nuke. It was as if they were invincible back then. Maybe that attitude is why they lost this time around.

• The big GOP winner coming out of 2006? That would be John McCain. The moderate maverick is set to pounce on the bipartisan feeling spreading through DC and the rest of the country into a front-runner spot for the GOP, wresting that title back from Rudy Giuliani. Will JMac's popularity last?