Earlier this evening, I saw Chris Matthews hit some Republican — I think it was Bill Frist — with an interesting remark. The Republican, conceding that the Democrats would probably control the House, spoke of the need for the two parties to work together on a “bi-partisan basis” and he described some of what he hoped would happen. Matthews said something like, “You’re not describing a bi-partisan basis. You’re talking about them giving in to you on everything.”

Sadly, that’s been the definition of “bi-partisan” for the last five years, often going unchallenged. Hopefully, Matthews will continue to remember what it means.