Our hard-fought victory is winning us respect.

For example, here's today's NY Times:

The election in Ohio, one of the most fiercely contested states, has been seized on by the Green Party, liberal Democrats and advocates of changing the voting system because of its long lines, lack of uniform policies on provisional ballots and the allocation of voting machines.

In many ways, the debate came about because of the relentless efforts of a small group of third-party activists, liberal lawyers, Internet muckrakers and civil rights groups, who have been arguing since Election Day that the Ohio vote was rigged for Mr. Bush.

In the weeks since, those groups have organized rallies and public hearings in Ohio protesting the vote, filed lawsuits contesting Mr. Bush's victory and demanded a statewide recount that resulted in Mr. Bush's margin of victory shrinking by 300 votes, to about 118,450. They also protested in Washington on Thursday.

"I think we're seeing a political realignment going on," David Cobb, the Green presidential candidate, said at a rally across the street from the White House. "The rank and file of the Democratic Party are far more progressive than the corporatist leaders of the party."

Before yesterday's victory, an article like this would have been impossible.

Michael North sent this Google link to help us count the number of stories - 983 as of 7 a.m. Friday.

And the voters are overwhelmingly on our side! CNN is running a poll  asking "Should Congress look into the validity of the presidential election results in Ohio?" As of 7 a.m., the results were Yes=66% No=34% with nearly 30,000 votes.

Meanwhile, Bush is losing respect - his disapproval rating of 49% equals his approval rating, by far the worst rating for any incumbent on the eve of his second inauguration.