Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., speaks during her weekly news conference on Capitol Hill, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

If you watched CNN at all the past few days, you’ve probably noticed the tendency for it to resemble a funeral procession, and not like one of those in New Orleans. I’m talking the most depressing, white bread funeral procession you can imagine.

As if they had had the scales lifted off their eyes, many of the anchors and analysts realized it was over. Donald Trump wasn’t getting impeached, and despite claims to the contrary, his legal team had actually done a very good job. All the bluster, proclamations of Nancy Pelosi being a genius, and teeth-gnashing prime time hits were all for naught, and that’s left Democrats and their media allies only one last gasp to take.

That gasp is to insist that though Trump may have won, history is going to punish him greatly with nasty write-ups and an asterisk next to the result. CNN’s Jeffrey Toobin does some of that in the following clip, but the overall point is clear: It’s time to wave the white flag because Trump has won.

CNN chief legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin after a key vote for witnesses fails in the Senate: "Trump won. He's going to win this trial. He won on the issue of witnesses, he's going to get acquitted — and that's how history will remember what went on here" pic.twitter.com/yZ24GPUpCJ

— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) January 31, 2020

In 50 years, no one outside of the beltway is going to remember that someone named John Bolton didn’t testify. No one will care that we “only” heard from 17 different witnesses or that Adam Schiff cried. The end result is the end result. You know what people remember about Andrew Johnson’s impeachment? That he was acquitted. You know what people remember about Clinton’s impeachment? That he was acquitted. Democrats badly miscalculated, despite being warned from the beginning not to go down this road. That miscalculation will only grow more stark if Trump is re-elected.

Meanwhile, those on the left and in the media (but I repeat myself) will desperately try to save face by pretending to be able to read deep into the annals of history, seeing doom for Trump’s legacy. But the truth is that they’ve lost and they’ve lost big. Despite near 100% negative coverage and more breathless “bombshell” reports than any normal person can keep track of, Trump’s approval is up and he’s actually more competitive today going into 2020 than he was four months ago.

If you look up the definition of backfire, Nancy Pelosi will be pictured. A few weeks ago she was laughing it up and handing out pens to mark the occasion of impeaching the President. She’s not laughing anymore.