We don’t know how to be much clearer about the matter: Despite failing to get their anti-democratic, anti-worker “Employee Free Choice Act” through a Senate cloture vote today, union bosses have to be pretty pleased with themselves. Why? Because the real fight isn’t about today – it’s about preparing the ground to pass the bill in 2009 (a new, possibly more pliant, president will be inaugurated in 19 months). Some evidence for you skeptics:

• AFSCME president Gerald McEntee told The Politico: “In 2009, we’ll have a real opportunity and a real chance in putting this into law ….”

• AFL-CIO president John Sweeney told The New York Times that “This is really about 2009. But it’s important that we show the country that we have majority support.”

• Bill Samuel, the legislative director of the AFL-CIO, said the bill is in “the building stage,” and a vote on the bill would be considered a victory.

• Robert Borosage, director of the union-funded Campaign for America’s Future, said “We’ve just begun this debate. We started with unions not even in people’s consciousness … and now even the conservatives in the Democratic caucus are coming on board.” He added: “We’re a while away from it, but if you get a Democratic president and Democratic majorities (in Congress) this will be on the lead agenda.”