Pete's post today about two very possible veto overrides that could happen in the next few weeks is very significant.

Overrides would have been an important development under any circumstances. But they take on even more significance in light of the win by the Democratic candidate in the Mississippi special election last night.

The fact that it's the third special election the Democratic candidate has won this year is noteworthy. The fact that the wins have all come in districts that were considered absolutely safe Republican up to that point makes you to sit up and take notice. The additional fact that all of these seats were expected to stay Republican had the incumbent chosen to run for reelection virtually forces you to wonder what's really going on.

As I said last week, the 2008 election is starting to have all the signs of not just a Democratic win, but also realignment.

And that's what makes the veto overrides so important. They can't happen without Republican support, and the White House so far has been able to count on that to make the president's veto threats credible. Two overrides in rapid succession would be an indication that, after three special election loses, the remaining Republican incumbents are running scared and seeing that agreeing with Democrats rather that George W. Bush is the better way to save their own political hides.

The election is still six months away and a great deal can and will change. But if the voting took place today, it would be hard to argue that George W. Bush is commanding the attention and respect he will need from even the members of his own political party to get much of anything done or to stop other things from happening. Combine that with his very low job-approval ratings from the general public and its hard not to conclude that yesterday, May 13, 2008, was the day that the Bush presidency effectively ended.