adds up to 220 or so workdays so far this year. in other words, the average american has worked 71 more days so far this year than senators have. nearly 100 more days than house members. and that's not counting the holidays. i know working during the holidays is not fun, but people whose jobs are essential, they do it all the time. airline employees, doctors, nurses, police, firefighters, utility crews, trash collectors, you name it. they work because they have important and essential jobs. wouldn't it be nice to think that our representatives also considered their jobs important and essential? senator joe lieberman, like reid and a number of republicans, are willing to work through the holiday this year to finish the job, especially on don't ask, don't tell. i spoke with senator lieberman about what he sees as growing chance of repealing the policy early tonight. senator lieberman, you said this has been a thrilling day. >> well, most thrilling is the vote in the house of representatives which acted on our standalone bill, passed the repeal by a larger margin than when the repeal was adopted by