Labour tweeters urged party members to be respectful - but the Respect MP George Galloway was in no mood for restraint, tweeting "Tramp the dirt down".

BBC: Twitter and the death of Baroness Thatcher

But for all the celebrating that the Democrats were doing over the weekend, the mood in the party dramatically changed with Monday's news that Eliot Spitzer, the governor of New York and a leading progressive voice in the party, was embroiled in a prostitution scandal.

NPR: How Did Spitzer Get Involved in Prostitution Ring?