Former DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe walked in the ballroom where House and Senate Democrats were congragating around 10 pm with a big smile on his face. At 11:11 pm, when CNN announced a Democratic takeover of the House of Represenatives, that optimism soon turned into electricity.

As our colleague David Corn mentioned, Democrats haven’t been this excited in years–possibly since Bill Clinton took the Presidency in 1992.

A Democratic Senate aide said this was the first election he’s ever experienced that didn’t end badly. We all remember the nightmare of 2000. The Republican rout in 2002. The harrowing dissapointment of 2004. It seemed like what we thought would occur in 2004 would actually happen in 2006. And it did.

CNN is projecting a 30 + seat Democratic victory in the House. The Senate is on the precipice. As tonight’s festivities demonstrate, it’s a whole lot more fun to live in a country no longer governed by one party rule.