After all those millions, so many lies and so much voter suppression, the forces of American darkness come up empty. The White House and Senate elude the Tea Party, even as its stranglehold on the House becomes an isolated island in a sea of sanity.

The American nightmare is not over, but daylight is on the horizon. Barack Obama’s reelection victory carries with it exhausted relief, not the jubilation of four years ago but a sober sense of renewal with no illusions about how much healing the body politic will need.

Yet, before the huge task of rebuilding begins, the casualty list of Election 2012 villainy deserves recognition: the SuperPac billionaires whose money bought nothing, the Karl Rove chicanery that didn’t work, the defeat of Senate weirdos and House kooks like Allen West, the unsuccessful attempts to frustrate voters with long lines and voting delays.

Despite all that, the President won not only a clear Electoral College majority but the raw vote as well.

At 2 A.M. Eastern time, he told Americans that “whether I earned your vote or not, I have listened to you, I have learned from you, and you’ve made me a better president. And with your stories and your struggles, I return to the White House more determined and more inspired than ever about the work there is to do and the future that lies ahead.

“Tonight you voted for action, not politics as usual…”

MORE.

LEGAL NOTICE ON CARTOON: This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Reproduction elsewhere without licensing is strictly prohibited. See great cartoons by all the top political cartoonists at http://cagle.com. To license this cartoon for your own site, visit http://politicalcartoons.com