November 4, 2008

  • Election Day Coverage (well...from my perspective)

    5:49pm EST: Here I am, with my wife, son and daughter, preparing to witness history unfolding before our very eyes. I'm holding Madison while Pam cooks a delicious meal for dinner and Austin sits - restrained (lol) - in his high chair in anticipation. Watching an election-themed episode of Simpsons, we anxiously await the first poll closings. I've already started documenting (by video camera) the events of the day in my house and will do so throughout the night, as I record my thoughts every once and a while throughout the course of the night. I'll be right back, I need to change my daughter :) .

    6:17pm: Steven the Gopher called a moment ago, wanting input on the latest exit polls...err..I've been watching Simpsons...LOL. So, after we hung up, I humored him by flipping over to MSNBC to get the aforementioned info and alas, Obama's chances appear good so far. Olbermann and Matthews discuss the significance of this election and how people voting for the first time could potentially reflect on it in the 22nd Century. They scoff at the idea of someone not voting in this important election (Steven and Melissa, that means you, although Steven negated to do his civic duties for political reasons). I'm eating at the moment (corn, shells and cheese and pork chops...mmmm). I'll be back.

    6:50pm: Exit polls still appear to favor Obama. Indiana shows promise as Obama has maintained a steady lead over McCain since the numbers therefrom started pouring almost half an hour ago. I'm calling Kentucky for McCain (then again, McCain's lead there has narrowed incredibly).

    7:24pm: Indiana is too close to call (Mitch the Bitch wins re-election, if only you people in the "Boyhood Home of Lincoln" knew that Mitch - as Budget and Office Management Secretary - cut anti-terror funds from the FBI's budget the day before the attacks). A number of other important and traditionally Repug states are either Too Early or Too Close to call...this is remarkable!! Ohio's numbers are coming up!

    7:47pm: It doesn't surprise me that the first state to secede from the Union and the last to join (SC) has gone to McCain, and it looks as if Georgia will as well.

    8pm: PENNSYLVANIA GOES FOR OBAMA!! McCain's path to victory has been demolished!!

    8:24pm: Florida may very well f**k it up again. The vote in West Palm Beach is so unnecessarily confusing.

    8:39pm: Bye bye Senator Dole!! I had already called Georgia for McCain (for shame), and McCain has picked up some more of the former confederacy...whoop-ti-doo!

    8:53pm: The MSNBC pundits are already attempting to downplay the significance of Obama's amazing grassroots campaign all the while same said campaign has turned formerly faithful "red states" like Indiana into battleground states. More to come soon...

    9:27pm: OHIO GOES FOR OBAMA!!! No Repug has EVER won the presidency without my state!! Come on Indiana, North Carolina, Florida, Colorado, New Mexico (@ 9:31, this state has joined Obama's column), Arizona, California and others...lets give our 44th President a LANDSLIDE!!

    10pm: Texas has been called for McCain, just adding to the list of confederate states to his column. Iowa goes to Obama!! Montana and Nevada (Repug held states last time around) are too early/close to call!

    10:11pm: Mississippi has gone to McCain, the confederate coalition grows. Lets hope North Carolina and Virginia break the cycle.

    10:45pm: I'm going to gamble a bit and project McCain the winner of his own state (AZ) after a bit of a scare for that campaign and Obama the winner of this election. In 15 minutes, the deal will be sealed!

    11:03pm: Thank you America, you've just made history and taken the first step in the right direction! I'll be back upon learning the results of Indiana, North Carolina and Virginia (add this state to the list!!!), let's hope for a grand landslide!!

    11:15pm: Our 44th President has just added Colorado and Florida to the coalition for progress!!

    11:18pm: At this moment as McCain delivers his concession speech, I feel a new sense of love for my country. We've matured, and have completed a journey in transcending issues of bigotry. I watch Jesse Jackson, presidential candidate of 1984 and 1988, watch in tearful glee as he witnesses the realization of a dream In many ways, the election of Obama is a giant leap towards the fulfillment of that famed dream spoken by one of God's greatest servants; Rev. Martin Luther King J.R.!!

    11:28pm: John McCain shows what an honorable and graceful concession should look like (video below).

    11:38pm: Thank God Almighty, Nevada joins the coalition!!!

    12:16am: If words can seduce the soul, I've just been subjected to such a seduction and have succumbed. Tonight, the United States of America reclaimed the dream that drove our founding fathers and the Continental Army to victory. Tonight, the 44th President of these UNITED States of America delivered a magnificent speech (video below), captivating a nation on its way out of a long political darkness with the promise that brighter days are just around the corner. Barack Hussein Obama J.R. is our President-elect, he is MY president and I couldn't feel more relieved to say that. May we never doubt the bonds created by our affection or common interests, and may the long awaited healing begin...now. May God Bless the United States and everyone else!!

    1:56am: Approximately half an hour ago, Alaska was called for McCain (unofficially entering Palin in the 2012 Repug Primaries). Montana, North Carolina, Missouri and Indiana - all usually reliable Repug territory - remain "too close to call". This is astonishing, to say the least. What a message it will send if all four go to Obama. Obama presently has 5 million more popular votes than McCain, officially making this victory a MANDATE! I will remain awake until every state has been decided...

    2:44am: Shortly after the previous update, Indiana made history by joining this broad coalition...thank you HOOSIERS!!

    3:02am: Montana goes to McCain, as expected. Obama's popular vote lead is unwavering @ 5 million-plus. Obama leads by 12,000 votes in NC and McCain by roughly 2-3,000 in Missouri.

    3:51am: Fatigue sets in. It is unconscionable for the AP to not call Missouri for McCain and NC for Obama by this point. What haven't they counted? Both are reporting 100% of their precincts, but there hasn't been any final decision as to who'll win those states. Here's hoping a victor is declared soon in both. I'm just pulling for Obama to gain 15 more EVs to expand his majority and so I can get some much needed rest.

    Thursday (11/6/08) 6:24pm: On Tuesday, I had vowed to remain awake and liveblog the election until all 50 states were reported. Unfortunately, I became so fatigued by this daunting task that I gave up about two hours after the last update. Besides, Missouri and North Carolina had yet to be announced. Missouri wouldn't be called until near noon yesterday, and NC was just called for Obama today. Just like that, Obama has defied the odds of a black man, let alone a Democrat, winning two states of the former confederacy.

     He made history on numerous fronts, becoming the first African-American president, the first Democrat to win 11 of the 13 colonies since Johnson in 1964, the first Democrat to win the presidency without a Southerner on the ticket since Roosevelt/Wallace in 1940, the first Democrat to win Indiana since Johnson in 1964, and the first President to have had a foreign parent since Woodrow Wilson in 1912-1919! Now that the Election is over, Mandate is huge, and the countdown to inauguration commenced, the hardest part of our job has passed. Now, it is up to us to keep the pressure on Obama and the Democratic Congress to deliver on the change we were promised!! More on this in another post.

    TAKE CARE AND GOD BLESS

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