There was no joy in mudville.

Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright;

The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,

And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout;

But there is no joy in Mudville — mighty Casey has struck out.

Beautiful Day today in our nation's Capital. The sun is shining, the birds (actually!) are singing. The bureaucrats are making love. The waitresses are serving overpriced food and drink. The conservative minded people are developing bad policy ideas. You can still see the flags and assorted Senators shwag is the windows of people who forgot to get off the bandwagon last night. Throughout the city though, there is a palpable feeling not of loss but the sense of emptyness that comes from a long expected tragedy, like the family of a man who died after a long terminal illness.

Up Next: Montreal's defeat at the hands of Washington!