In Case Anyone's Interested

My election night diary:

7:00 I sit down in the big chair with the remote, the laptop, and a stiff drink. My trusty guitar sits in its stand next to the chair for when I need comfort.

7:05 McCain picks up Kentucky, Obama gets Vermont. No surprises.

7:15 Too early to call for President, but ABC calls Virginia's Senate election for Democrat Mark Warner. Hello!

7:21 Indiana: Obama's within 1%, and the urban north hasn't reported yet.

7:25 CNN reports McCain way ahead in Virginia. Argh. Then they point out that that's only two rural counties. Damn you CNN! I pick up the guitar.

7:29 Some guy on CNN is dissecting Indiana county by county, and I have no idea what he's talking about.

7:56: Indiana again. Now I get it. Obama's not losing as bad as Kerry in the rural counties. So when the urban counties come in...

7:57 South Carolina. Obama 55%, McCain 44%, but they call it for McCain. WTF?

8:00 Obama jumps up to 77 EV's according to CNN vs McCain's 34. I'm already getting really tired of that sound CNN uses when they call a state. They also sometimes use it when they tell you it's too early to call.

8:14 Dana Bash reports from McCain HQ where they have a boys' choir performing. How lame is that?

8:18 I flip over to MSNBC. WTF is up with David Gregory's gangster suit?

8:21 ABC calls the NH Senate race. I find that I really like saying "Shaheen beats Sununu." Maybe I need to slow down on the rum.

8:27 ABC News calls it for Hagan 58 42%. Looks like calling Hagan "godless" didn't work out as well as Liddy hoped. I seem to remember it being fairly close before she pulled that malarkey. My wife wonders how long Liddy will hang around Salisbury now. We're thinking, not long.

8:30 My friend Tasha e-mails me iPhone pictures from Grant Park in Chicago. She's already been through three security checkpoints. I feel a little better about Obama's safety. I also feel pretty good that I'm not in Grant Park. History's nice, but I'm not fond of crowds.

8:45 ABC & CNN call Pennsylvania, McCain's "Must win", for Obama. Things look bleak for McCain. BWAHAHAHAHAAA!

9:11 ABC shows a shot from McCain's HQ at the Arizona Biltmore, and I realize 'hey, I've been drunk in that ballroom." Then I wonder "Why are the McCainiacs waving red flags?"

9:30: ABC and CNN call Ohio for Obama. Another state McCain had to win. It looks like it's over. Guess trotting out a fake plumber didn't work as well as they'd thought.

9:39: CNN reports that they've turned off the news feed in the ballroom at the Arizona Biltmore. If that's not a symbol of Republican thinking. I don't know what is.

9:45 The guy with the big touch screen electoral maps on CNN illustrates how McCain can take a whole bunch of disputed states and still won't get to 270. It's over.

10:00 Obama takes Iowa. I turn over to watch Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert's coverage on Comedy Central.

10:47 Waiting for the final blow to fall when the West Coast polls close. This is the longest hour ever.

10:56 Comedy Central calls Virginia for Obama before anyone else? WTF?

11:00 Comedy Central also calls the election for Obama. I love that first got the news form Jon Stewart.

11:20 McCain concedes. Graciously. It's reminiscent of the scene in Return of the Jedi when Luke takes Darth Vader's helmet off and he's Anakin Skywalker again.

11:50 C'mon, Barack, get out there and get inspiring and shit. I have to work tomorrow.

12:05 I love the reference to the kids finally getting the dog they were promised if Dad won. It's so Cosby.

12:30. Hell of a speech. I'm going to bed. Glad this one's not going to recounts, courts, etc.

To quote my friend Jim Winter from the comments below:

"AMERICA! FUCK YEAH!"

A Message For America

At this moment, I'm reminded of a line that's stuck with me from Kurt Vonnegut's TIMEQUAKE: 

“You were sick, but now you're well again, and there's work to do.” 

A Defeat for the Forces of Hatred

Kay Hagan projected to win Elizabeth Dole's Senate seat. 

Guess that "godless" bullshit didn'thave the effect you'd hoped, huh Liddy? 

UPDATE 9:52:  Watching Liddy's concession speech and cackling madly. Good-bye,  you poisonous waste of a Senate seat.  

Today's the Day

And a reminder, once again of why this election is so important.

Comments from FreeRepublic.com on the death of Barack Obama's grandmother:

Nice timing. That’ll pick up a few sympathy votes for sure.

Cancer patients usually pass away from a planned terminal sedation.
This may be the first politically timed terminal sedation ever, though.


I'm wondering if factcheck.org is going to publish an obviously Photoshopped death certificate to prove Grandma really died today...

Since he is the messiah, can’t he raise her from the dead?

hawaii trip was prob for funeral and get birth certificate from the attic...

And the Republican party is filing a complaint, on the day of her death, that that Obama's visit to his grandmother to see her before she died was an illegal use of campaign funds.

As opposed to:



You know what to do.

The Other Side of the Coin

Jonathan Curley is a banker in Charlotte, North Carolina. He voted for George H.W. Bush twice and George W. Bush once.


In this story from the Christian Science Monitor, he talks about canvassing for Obama.

I learned in just those three hours that this election is not about what we think of as the "big things."

It's not about taxes. I'm pretty sure mine are going to go up no matter who is elected.

It's not about foreign policy. I think we'll figure out a way to get out of Iraq and Afghanistan no matter which party controls the White House, mostly because the people who live there don't want us there anymore.

I don't see either of the candidates as having all the answers.

I've learned that this election is about the heart of America. It's about the young people who are losing hope and the old people who have been forgotten. It's about those who have worked all their lives and never fully realized the promise of America, but see that promise for their grandchildren in Barack Obama. The poor see a chance, when they often have few. I saw hope in the eyes and faces in those doorways.

My wife and I went out last weekend to knock on more doors. But this time, not because it was her idea. I don't know what it's going to do for the Obama campaign, but it's doing a lot for me.

It's a great story and I recommend it heartily.

This story and the one in the blog post below it illustrate to me exactly why this election is so important. I don't think I'm overstating the case when I say it's a battle for this country's soul. A battle between the fear and hate and divisiveness that's come to symbolize the McCain campaign and the hope for the future and unity that Obama stands for. I've had to fight for eight years against people who have no problem calling me a traitor and un-American because I've dared disagree with my country's government. People like the lady in the story below, who don't see anything wrong about punishing children out of hate for the candidate their parents support. That lady is not an islotated case. I know people just like her, all over. They write me some really charming e-mails.

If I have to, I'll fight them for another eight years.

But lord, I'm tired.

Another Real American

MyFox Detroit: No Treats for Obama Supporters

A Grosse Pointe Farms woman is accused of pulling a political dirty trick. Instead of giving away treats to every child who knocks on her door, parents say she's only giving them to kids who agree with her choice for president. FOX 2's Andrea Isom talked with the woman accused of denying children candy.

Yep, that's right. This Real American asked parents of trick or treaters if they were supporting Obama. If they said yes, the kids got no candy. When she heard the kids were crying, Real American Shirley Nagel shrugged and said "Oh, well...everyone has a choice."

The thing that really infuriates me about these wingnuts is the complete lack of shame they exhibit, the complete lack of awareness of just how horrible they really are.

Now, a question: if Barack Obama and Kay Hagan are responsible for and required to distance themselves from everyone who ever supported them or sent them money, shouldn't Honorable John McCain be required to repudiate this woman who makes children cry because she doesn't like their parent's candidate? Hmmmm?


h/t to Crooks and Liars