I know it's fun and fashionable to dunk on Democrats for being weak or feckless, but let's give credit where it's due. They put together a strong case, they won over 7 GOP votes for conviction, and they won in the court of public opinion. They were never getting 17 defectors.

From a purely political standpoint, what they managed to accomplish was to unify their caucus while fracturing the opposition. That's no small feat and it'll reap rewards later. For now, they have branded the GOP as the party of Trump and they're set up to win big in 2022.

By this summer, impeachment won't matter as much as the economy and vaccines. If Democrats can prove that they're competent practitioners of government, it makes Republicans look even sillier for their continued support of the failed former president.