We have the facts and we're voting...

November 3, 2008 10:05 PM

At 12:00am EST, in the Ballot Room of the Balsams Resort in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, the 2008 Presidential Election began.* The vote was 15-6 Obama -- the first time a Democrat has carried the village since 1968. Despite their "first in the nation" status, though, they have only picked the winner 50% of the time.

* - Hart's Location, which Obama also won, would beg to differ. Notably, Hart's Location is 3-for-3 in voting for the eventual winner.

posted by dw (2044 comments total)

Ron Paul got 6% of the vote at Hart's.

I wonder how well their voter security is.

"Bob, I know it's you under that mustache, but I'll let you vote for Ron twice if you will take your signs off your yard. There are only two of us on that end of the town anyway, and we are on a cul de sac. Who were you trying to convince? Bill, the postal worker? You know he's been a Dem through and through since we had that brawl down at the bar a ways back."
posted by mrzarquon at 10:17 PM on November 3, 2008 [15 favorites]

I was looking at this earlier. It's a rather remarkable result considering that the primary participation indicates anywhere from a 2:1 to 4:1 GOP advantage in party identification. A harbinger of more to come?

The tradition was first organized by prominent Dixville Notch resident Neil Tillotson (1898 - 17 October 2001), who was traditionally the first voter; he would reportedly hold his ballot over the ballot box while watching his wristwatch. At the moment of midnight, Tillotson would drop the ballot into the ballot box and the rest of the town's residents would follow suit. Since Tillotson's death from pneumonia in 2001 at the age of 102, the first voter has been chosen by random ballot beforehand.

R.I.P. Neil.
posted by dhartung at 10:17 PM on November 3, 2008 [13 favorites]

First post voting location in the country!
posted by heresiarch at 10:18 PM on November 3, 2008 [2 favorites]

"Dixville Notch" is an anagram for "Nix th' Vice Doll".
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 10:19 PM on November 3, 2008 [8 favorites]

Oh, I forgot this part: Guam is actually first -- the polls opened there at 5pm EST Monday. But since they don't have any presidential electors, the US press ignores them. They are electing their Congressional delegate, though.
posted by dw at 10:22 PM on November 3, 2008 [3 favorites]

Today is going to be a good day.
posted by clearly at 10:24 PM on November 3, 2008

flagged as election-filter

j/k
posted by troy at 10:25 PM on November 3, 2008 [2 favorites]

21 votes cast out of 75 residents?

THAT bodes badly. Nobody could get out the vote when it's the town tradition and the target additional vote maxes out at 54 more people?!?! They could fit in a bus! Jeez! What else is there to DO in Dixville Notch, anyway? Commit felonies?

Maybe this had just better not be boding any which way.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 10:25 PM on November 3, 2008

Most of the inhabitants of Dixville Notch resemble this guy.
posted by grouse at 10:26 PM on November 3, 2008 [4 favorites]

21 votes cast out of 75 residents? THAT bodes badly.

It looks like they get an average turnout of, oh, about 27 for most general elections, so maybe a few Republicans just stayed home this year. And given that the last Democrat to poll in the double digits there was Jimmy Carter (he got 11 votes in 1976), so maybe it actually bodes well...
posted by scody at 10:32 PM on November 3, 2008

I think it signifies that a LOT of conservatives will side with Obama, because they have decided that they want to not vote based on fear or anger, and want to be on the right side of history.

Perhaps we're going to see a "reverse Bradley Effect", as people enter the voting booths and find their better selves. I doubt that most voters are quite as politically aware as the residents of Dixville Notch, but it's a welcome start.

Meanwhile, Hart's Location has cast its votes... 17 for Obama, 10 for McCain and two for write-in Ron Paul.
posted by markkraft at 10:33 PM on November 3, 2008 [1 favorite]

I can't help but giggle every time Dixville Notch is mentioned. 'Cause, you know, it sounds like "dicks-ville". Juvenile, I know.
posted by DecemberBoy at 10:33 PM on November 3, 2008

That last-minute Jeremiah Wright ad was carpet-spammed on TV even here in deep blue Western MA tonight. That must have been a massive ad buy. Let's hope America takes the high road.
posted by Camofrog at 10:35 PM on November 3, 2008 [1 favorite]

It doesn't bode or signify anything. It's a tiny town. Not statistically significant.
posted by smorange at 10:36 PM on November 3, 2008 [4 favorites]

We could totally do that in my town of 200, but we are in mid-MO and it wouldn't make much sense...I'm just a bit jealous because it looks like fun.
posted by schyler523 at 10:36 PM on November 3, 2008

Ambrosia Voyeur, the article says that 100% of registered voters cast ballots. I assume the resident count includes children and so forth.
posted by MadamM at 10:37 PM on November 3, 2008 [3 favorites]

So if I don't have a TV, which website should I be monitoring today to keep track of the election results in the most accurate way possible?

"I'm so excited I can hardly sit still or keep a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement only a free man can feel."
posted by maxwelton at 10:38 PM on November 3, 2008 [2 favorites]

maxwelton: five thirty eight
posted by amuseDetachment at 10:39 PM on November 3, 2008

I can't wait to get back to being apathetic about politics again.
posted by empath at 10:44 PM on November 3, 2008 [8 favorites]

I have every confidence this will go brilliantly. Best wishes and a power of good luck to all my American friends!
posted by Wolof at 10:45 PM on November 3, 2008

Is this the liveblogging thread that's going to reach 17,000 posts by midnight of Nov 4?
or should we start another one
posted by shakespeherian at 10:53 PM on November 3, 2008

Call me crazy but I would like it if more than a third of the total population was registered to vote, in Dixville Notch or anyplace. If there's that many kids, twice as many as adults, I would like it if they had less of those in the first place! What a handful!
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 10:54 PM on November 3, 2008

So, does this mean Obama won?
posted by PHINC at 10:55 PM on November 3, 2008 [1 favorite]

Now that midnight has passed, Zogby has just released their final poll, taken yesterday.

The results?

An 11.4% blowout nationwide... shifting over 4% in Obama's favor in one day, despite (because of?) the constant barrage of Rev. Wright ads on all the news shows.

Apparently, the undecided have finally decided. They've chosen the future.
posted by markkraft at 11:00 PM on November 3, 2008 [2 favorites]

In 2000, Dixville Township had 75 residents, 68 of them of voting age.
posted by Knappster at 11:04 PM on November 3, 2008

Hurrah! Election thread!

*glues finger to F5*
posted by Happy Dave at 11:04 PM on November 3, 2008 [4 favorites]

Okay everyone, pay attention.

I and my elite strike team have... displaced... a few choice individuals who go by the online monikers "mathowie", "jessamyn", "cortex", and "vacapinta", for the next 24 hours. You know that youtube video you'd bookmarked where it totes looks like McCain is checking out Palin's ass? The outragefilter link you had to a flickr stream of Obama photoshopped with a turban? The barrage of election-day updates? That last-ditch message you wanted to get across to all the unwashed masses?

Now is your time. Enjoy the gift I have given you, because once the head trauma wears off the mods return from their relaxing day cruise, we'll be back to business as usual.

Cthulhu/Zombie Reagan '08!
posted by Riki tiki at 11:09 PM on November 3, 2008

I'm in San Francisco and I'm still trying to decide who to vote for in protest of Nancy "impeachment is off the table" Pelosi. Cindy Sheehan is the official protest candidate, even winning some endorsements as such, but... meh.

I wish a Green candidate was running.
posted by ryanrs at 11:14 PM on November 3, 2008

I wish a Green candidate was running.

Vote for the spirit of Peter Camejo!
posted by scody at 11:16 PM on November 3, 2008

Capital-G Green? Uh, Cynthia McKinney would love your vote for her party, the Green Party.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 11:20 PM on November 3, 2008 [1 favorite]

Cynthia McKinney isn't running against Nancy Pelosi.
posted by ryanrs at 11:23 PM on November 3, 2008

It should be remembered that Zogby's 11.4% is consistant with Gallup's 11% result yesterday, based on their traditional likely voters model, which is even more conservative than their expanded likely voters model. Gallup has a great track record and relies on some of the largest sample sizes out there -- around 3000 voters -- so it's quite possible that we could see a victory that's even larger than Reagan vs. Carter in 1980, where he won by 9.7%.

Electorally, it almost certainly won't be as big of a blowout as 1980, but there's no reason why the Democrats shouldn't have years of time and a big fundraising advantage in order to make inroads into entrenched Republican territory.

And if Obama is as good of a President as I think he could be... next time, the deluge!

Palin '12 = Mondale '84?
posted by markkraft at 11:23 PM on November 3, 2008

ONE THREAD TO RULE THEM ALL: mathowie added the fucking sirens, y'all.
posted by dhammond at 11:24 PM on November 3, 2008 [7 favorites]

Just got back from the Manassas rally.

We've never seen an election like this before, folks.

This is a revolution.
posted by empath at 11:28 PM on November 3, 2008 [3 favorites]

What do the sirens mean?
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 11:29 PM on November 3, 2008

Oh, sorry ryanrs, that was a weird way to misread you. And now thousands of users can read me doing it since I guess THIS IS THE ONE.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 11:29 PM on November 3, 2008

>>What do the sirens mean?

That it's now okay to post pictures of cats.
posted by now i'm piste at 11:30 PM on November 3, 2008 [17 favorites]

Lolcats? That's where I'm a viking!
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 11:31 PM on November 3, 2008 [16 favorites]

21 votes cast out of 75 residents? THAT bodes badly.

Maybe the other 54 residents (give or take a few that are children and a change in the population since 2000) are all drug smuggling, terrorizing, sex offending felons and can't vote. Maybe they decided to become ex-pats and gave up their rights as American citizens. Maybe they succeeded at seceding from the United States and set up the Dixville Notch Common Wealth of Associated People for the Advancement of Adverbs. Maybe they believe that only white land owning males can vote. Maybe they were disenfranchised. Maybe they all died in some bloody small town feud. Maybe most don't want to stay up till midnight to cast a ballot so the town can be considered the first. Maybe they are lazy. Maybe they don't care.

Maybe I don't know what I'm talking about.*

*Most likely explanation.
posted by robtf3 at 11:31 PM on November 3, 2008 [3 favorites]

And so it begins. Good luck, America. The rest of us are going to need it.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 11:34 PM on November 3, 2008 [2 favorites]

FiveThirtyEight sez Obama's victory is in the bag (victory in 98.1% of simulated elections conducted). It looks like the question has become not whether Obama will win but by how much.
posted by Talez at 11:35 PM on November 3, 2008

> who to vote for in protest of Nancy "impeachment is off the table" Pelosi.

I still don't get this, is there something more than her statement regarding impeachment that you are protesting against? You think it will stay off the table with Dems in the white house, senate and house? And any legal proceedings at the time would have been complicated by the DoJ and other bureaucrats that were replaced with loyal to the party Republicans.

You have to realize some folks have been planing ahead for the 08 election. Like moving for democrats in secretary of state positions (the people who moderate the elections). Impeaching Bush or Cheney in 06 would have taken forever, the legal process would have taken forever, and if could have magically gotten both of them out of office at the same time (so one couldn't pardon the other), and would have been seen as political revenge. Not saying that the Republicans didn't pull that stuff, but it doesn't work if we want to see some progressive change.

Do I hope it happens? Yes. What I don't want it to be is a polarizing and base building event that consumes Obama's administration, only to have it fail within 4 years and we end up back at square one.
posted by mrzarquon at 11:38 PM on November 3, 2008

Good luck....

We're all counting on you.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 11:44 PM on November 3, 2008 [6 favorites]

You think it will stay off the table with Dems in the white house, senate and house?

I hope we get to find out.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 11:51 PM on November 3, 2008 [3 favorites]

I just wanted to post here in this thread while it's still short. I voted last week, and I was excited. I'm looking forward to seeing the results for today. For the first time in my life it looks like I voted for the winner. For the first time in my life, it looks like I'm a part of a fundamental change in America. For the first time in my life, I'm excited about the outcome. For the first time in my life, I'm excited about voting. 44 years I've been on this planet, and have been voting in 26 of them. Let's go!

Are you fired up?
Are you ready to go?
posted by Eekacat at 11:56 PM on November 3, 2008 [7 favorites]

We interrupt this MeFi thread for a last minute Public Service Announcement:

If you vote tomorrow, please be kind to your polling place's overworked, overwhelmed poll workers. Try to remember that they -- well, we -- are all volunteers. We're not political pawns or hacks working for one party or another; we span the political spectrum, but must completely keep our views to ourself while on the job. A higher-than-normal percentage of us are naturalized citizens, often from countries where the elections are/were decidedly not-free. (Here in Los Angeles, for example, we have many Russian-Americans volunteering.) And we're not responsible for the crappy voting machine choices our states may have chosen for the electoral process. If you get stuck in a long line, that's your Board of Elections' fault for not planning better beforehand. It's not the fault of the people who will be working on-site tomorrow for 14+ hours.

One of my poll worker clerks I will be overseeing tomorrow (as a first time poll inspector) is 81 years old, and I really don't think she's waking up at 4 AM tomorrow so that she can get herself mobile and be at her station by 6 AM for final set-up, all so that she can willfully disenfranchise anyone or cause grief.

It's going to be a long day for everyone, so please help keep things positive and helpful. We're all in this together.

Thank you, and we now return you to your MeFi thread already in progress.
posted by Asparagirl at 12:00 AM on November 4, 2008 [70 favorites]

Obama's up by ten and his turnout machine is a superweapon. For real. I've seen it and it is a revolution in itself. Unstoppable. We're talking Victor Von Doom, people.

The guy leaves absolutely nothing to chance. Nothing.

I'm going to guarentee VA by 10 points right here and now. Then I'm off to the battle. You guys are gonna be blown away.
posted by Ironmouth at 12:03 AM on November 4, 2008 [4 favorites]

I am fired up, ready to go. At some point tonight I will be fired up, but ready to sleep as I have lectures tomorrow (GMT zone here). But damnit, I have been doing online canvassing of American friends and will be up until the last state declares. It's just that important.
posted by jaduncan at 12:04 AM on November 4, 2008

I just want this to be over with so I can get some fucking sleep. It's been days.
posted by Optamystic at 12:04 AM on November 4, 2008 [6 favorites]

Re: Cynthia McKinney

I'm not going to vote for the Greens this year, even though I did in the last two presidential elections. I live in California, one of the less swingy states in the union. Since my individual vote doesn't really matter, I've always voted based on fairly abstract symbolic things. Usually I vote Green as a protest against the two-party system. I also like to pretend it keeps the Democrats from taking the left vote for granted. (As I said, it's mostly symbolic.)

But this election, I'm voting for Barack Obama. As before, my reasons are mostly symbolic. His policies don't actually excite me that much. They're mostly middle-of-the-road moderate Dem policies; nothing radical. Although I suppose that in itself is sort of exciting given the last eight years.

No, I'm voting for him because I sense this is a historic moment in American history, and I would like to take part in it. For me, I guess it really does come down to race. But it's not that he's black—it's that all the previous guys have been white.


Re: Pelosi

Yes, I hold her impeachment pronouncement against her. What can I say? I believe in an ornery, cantankerous electorate (with a long memory, too).
posted by ryanrs at 12:06 AM on November 4, 2008 [4 favorites]

I voted two weeks ago, so I plan to spend tomorrow constantly refreshing my browser and drinking beer (not necessarily in that order).
posted by DiscourseMarker at 12:07 AM on November 4, 2008 [4 favorites]

Hoping, hoping, hoping. Not least because I fear I'm going to be very upset with the next 6 - 9 years in New Zealand.
posted by rodgerd at 12:09 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

The guy leaves absolutely nothing to chance. Nothing.

Nothing?
posted by troy at 12:10 AM on November 4, 2008

Is there any chance we'll have the results when the polls close? I'm 7 hours ahead of EST and I keep thinking that being in an earlier time zone means I'll know the results first. Probably because I don't want to think about how long a night it's going to be...
posted by prophetsearcher at 12:12 AM on November 4, 2008

I did a bit of historical factchecking, and found the following interesting information.

If Obama does come in at around an 11% margin nationwide, that would be the largest non-incumbent popular vote margin we've seen since either Eisenhower vs. Stevenson in '52, which was a 10.9% margin, or perhaps even FDR vs. Hoover in '32, which was a 17.7% margin. Literally, the kind of non-incumbent victory that we have only seen twice in the last century. So much for partisanship!

This, and Obama's incredible promise as a national leader and unifying force for America, fills me with great hope for the Democrats in permanently reshaping the American electorate.
posted by markkraft at 12:19 AM on November 4, 2008

In anticipation of this momentous historic election, I'm already drunk. ON HOPE.


And beers.


Early projections indicate a 100% chance of more drunkeness, with an 85% chance of poking cats with little American flags.
posted by louche mustachio at 12:27 AM on November 4, 2008 [42 favorites]

Is there any chance we'll have the results when the polls close?

Probably not. It'll take a couple hours with the close states before they call them. If you're GMT +2, I think there's an 80% chance the race will be called by 0730 your time, 30 minutes after the West Coast polls close and deliver 77 EV to Obama.
posted by dw at 12:30 AM on November 4, 2008

prophetsearcher: Is there any chance we'll have the results when the polls close?

Do you mean a clear marker of who the winner is? Most probably. IIRC, most of the swing states are in by 2200 EST. If you meant whether the official tally is immediately available, then no. But the exit polls are publicized as soon as polls close and are generally reliable.
posted by Gyan at 12:30 AM on November 4, 2008

BTW, I don't hate Dems. I thought Eshoo was awesome, back when I lived in CA-14.
posted by ryanrs at 12:33 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

The tide is turning.

Go America. Make us northern neighbours (and the rest of the world) proud.
posted by lenny70 at 12:35 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

As an Aussie I've gotta say I've been watching these elections with an incredible amount of enthusiasm for a foreigner. Hell, I've discovered I can now name all 50 states. Even Maryland. Who the hell remembers Maryland?

It's just been a ball. I am god damn excited for a man to lead a country that isn't my own.

And now there are fuckin' Mefi sirens.

It's on.
posted by Serial Killer Slumber Party at 12:52 AM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

30 minutes after the West Coast polls close and deliver 77 EV to Obama.

If Obama needs the PST zone to win he ain't winning.
posted by troy at 12:54 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

damn you, lenny70... I was hoping to make it to bed without crying again!
posted by scody at 12:55 AM on November 4, 2008

as a national leader and unifying force for America

except for unlicensed plumbers who call themselves "Joe" and who want to make over $250K/yr someday. They're gonna be screwed.
posted by troy at 12:58 AM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

As they say, Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-it!

I still don't understand why election day isn't a national holiday. It's not like any work is going to get done with half the country flipping between tabs and hitting refresh all day.
posted by kaibutsu at 1:04 AM on November 4, 2008 [7 favorites]

If Obama needs the PST zone to win he ain't winning.

It's not that he needs them to win, it's that he needs them to put him over the top. Even if he captures most of the states that are still what one might call "toss-ups" he'll still only be somewhere between 250-269. Once he gets the 77 votes from the pacific, he'll be well over the top, but networks probably won't call it until he actually reaches the magic number.
posted by Doublewhiskeycokenoice at 1:05 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

I'm feeling the excitement from 10,000 miles away.
Hope it all goes well USA.
posted by Duke999R at 1:10 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

it's that he needs them to put him over the top

and I'm trying to say that if Obama has lost ALL of the battleground states (of which he needs just 1 or 2) then the PST isn't going to matter, and if he's taken the 1 or 2 battleground states then . . . the PST isn't going to matter. CO is the latest closing state that can swing the election.
posted by troy at 1:13 AM on November 4, 2008

I’ve heard that a new last ditch Republican scare commercial is going to say that Obama hates America so much that he’s going to vote for McCain.

It could work.
posted by mr.grum at 1:13 AM on November 4, 2008

Anyone watched this again recently?

It's pretty obvious that Obama reeled in the speechifying after the initial wave of attacks for being all talk... Here's hoping that once he's won the election, we'll be in for some speechifying unto the stratosphere. And some Yes We Did, and Yes We Will to carry forward.
posted by kaibutsu at 1:16 AM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Go n-eiri an bothar leat, a Obama!
posted by Wilder at 1:16 AM on November 4, 2008 [6 favorites]

Ironmouth writes "I'm going to guarentee VA by 10 points right here and now. Then I'm off to the battle. You guys are gonna be blown away."

I've seen his turnout machine too. It's great, but 10 points? No way. VA will be 51% Obama. (48-ish McCain, 1% other.)
posted by orthogonality at 1:18 AM on November 4, 2008

Yes We Will Have Been Able To
Past Progressive Future FTW!
posted by troy at 1:21 AM on November 4, 2008 [56 favorites]

That said, Obama will take VA (polls close at 7pm) and PA (8pm), and once that happens, McCain can't win unless somehow he gets New Mexico, which he won't.

If Obama also gets any other toss up state, including OH (7:30pm), NH (7pm or 8pm), or FL (most polls close at 7m; 8pm EST for the Panhandle), it's over for McCain even if he very improbably were to get NM.

So as soon as the networks think they can call PA plus VA plus any one of OH, NH, or FL, we'll know. I'm guessing PA gets called soon after 8pm, and VA around 9pm-10pm.
posted by orthogonality at 1:33 AM on November 4, 2008

Good luck, USA! I've got my fingers crossed for you! I've been following this since February, and obsessively since June, and it's been a blast.

So if Colorado is the last state to make a difference (assuming the remaining states are pretty certain bets)... what time do their polls close? How soon will the result be clear, if not actually officially official?
posted by harriet vane at 1:39 AM on November 4, 2008

Nothing would make me happier than if this thread had no activity tomorrow, because we'll all be going door-to-door or calling for GOTV as volunteers for Obama.

This is a once in a lifetime event, get out there and do something. Preaching to the choir on metafilter won't make this a monster landslide; it won't give Obama a mandate to get shit done as President. Go out and volunteer tomorrow. Make calls, talk to your neighbors.
posted by amuseDetachment at 1:43 AM on November 4, 2008

The tide is turning.

And The Times, They Are A'Changin'.
posted by marsha56 at 1:43 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

It's 1:43 PST, so I guess today... (time for a nap)
posted by amuseDetachment at 1:44 AM on November 4, 2008

This is the most worked up I've ever been before an election. I mean, I honestly thought Gore was a sure thing (he won my state) and was really hoping for Kerry (he won my state), but I feel like if Obama loses this one, I'm going to have a heart attack and die.

Because moving to Canada would offer scant protection.
posted by Joey Michaels at 2:20 AM on November 4, 2008

I am so glad I have a big [container] of [relaxing things] to help me through Election Day
posted by jtron at 2:22 AM on November 4, 2008 [6 favorites]

They say that America generally gets the leaders it deserves.

Here's hoping, for all our sakes, that we *don't* get the leader we deserve this time.

America hasn't done anything to deserve the leader that Barack Obama is shaping up to become. That he has the potential to be, anyway, with the right cabinet, and a solid mandate, and a hopeful nation behind him. Seriously, we really, really, don't deserve this man. And yet, inexplicably, he is so close to being our next President.

Talk about the audacity of hope.
posted by herichon at 2:25 AM on November 4, 2008 [6 favorites]

Enjoy your day U.S.A!

I'll buy you all a beer if Obama wins.

(Disclaimer: one beer for whole of U.S.A.)
posted by theCroft at 2:29 AM on November 4, 2008 [21 favorites]

I'm in Virginia. I made calls for Obama yesterday, I'll be working the polls part of the day today(For obama as one of those annoying people who hand you stuff, as yes, there are still undecideds as they walk in the door.) I am not going to call VA for Obama yet, even though I hope beyond hope that we watched the state turn blue tonight. Go vote, don't count on the others to make this happen, don't think "Oh, it's a lock for Obama" get out there and vote!

Polls open in less than 30 minutes in Virginia now. I am so excited I could squeal.
posted by SuzySmith at 2:33 AM on November 4, 2008

Wow, good luck USA. This is going to be an incredible day.
posted by saucysault at 2:36 AM on November 4, 2008

Jeez! What else is there to DO in Dixville Notch, anyway? Commit felonies?

Apparently you produce more babies that can't vote when you are not voting and/or committing felonies.

And 2 Paultards out of 21? That's quite disturbing. That being said - happy election day, I haven't been that excited about an election, since...ever and I'm not even an American.

I'm also really looking forward to associate walnuts with tasty nuts (preferably in cookies) again, not with some grumpy old guy who wants the black kid to gtf off his lawn.
posted by starzero at 2:50 AM on November 4, 2008

Have a great day, everybody. Canada's got its fingers crossed for you.
posted by Shepherd at 3:03 AM on November 4, 2008

You lucky Americans! I remember the UK 1997 elections when a morally bankrupt right wing administration got kicked out. Every person I know was elated, especially when Michael Portillo (poster boy for the Tories) lost his seat.

Is there a chance that there will be some seismic other Republican losses that will be remembered in the same way (other than McCain and Palin) i.e. which totems of the right could conceivably fall in the Senate or elsewhere that will cause Democrats to cheer the loudest?

I'll be raising a beer in Prague for the USA tonight (I saw a McCain and Palin election vehicle in Prague this week- it was empty and parked outside a bar).
posted by Gratishades at 3:05 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

I was talking to a co-worker last night. He's going to vote for McCain. We're in California where Obama is ahead by 16% in the polls so out votes for president don't matter much. He then told me that he knew that Obama was going to win and that he believes that Obama has a good chance of being a great president. Not just good. Not just excellent but truly great. I hope he's right because there's not much room for error. With two wars and a cratering economy either Obama becomes a great president or he becomes a one term failure. Obama seems able to do what's necessary to sustain himself in the short term while grinding away on the long game so it might be a while before we get a sense of which way his presidency is going. For right now it's going to be wonderful to have a president who's an adult.

Happy election day everyone.
posted by rdr at 3:07 AM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

Its 5AM and people are lining up at polls already here in Houston Texas.
posted by dog food sugar at 3:09 AM on November 4, 2008

It's 5AM - do you know where your voting location is?
posted by Happy Dave at 3:11 AM on November 4, 2008

I think this thread will be a pretty amazing record of the turnout and excitement in the air in the US. I feel like we're in a vast stadium, the whole world waiting and watching, and we're all straining forwards in our streets, willing you across the finish line, tightness in our chests, hoping things go the right way.

You guys over there, you're the runners, and we're willing you across the line - go vote, and help others to vote.
posted by Happy Dave at 3:14 AM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

I just voted (in suburban NY). At 5:55 there was a line of maybe 50-60 people; the poll workers said they'd never seen anything like it. There was a Spanish-speaking guy on line behind me who had never voted before which, in my district, is fairly unusual. And also cool.

Now I need coffee.
posted by uncleozzy at 3:15 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

I've lived in New Hampshire for most of my life and somehow I've managed to not understand until tonight that the Dixville Notch election thing is paid attention to nationally. Just tonight noticed that although it was the local TV anchor covering it it had the full ABCNews logo as the station ID. I've only watched it a few times in the past; I must have always gotten confused because it's the local anchor.

I always figured that there were crazy people who insist on voting at midnight all over the country, in every state, like those people who go shopping at 3am on the day after Thanksgiving.
posted by XMLicious at 3:21 AM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Imagine August 28th, 2013, in the first year after President Obama's reelection.

The entirety of Washington D.C. packed with a huge crowd of Americans, spread from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial, gathering to celebrate as a nation and hear the speakers... and one in particular, as he says words familiar, but with new significance and meaning.

"We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of a debt owed to those who came before us fifty years ago. Of those who fought for our nation's future, who suffered for that future, and of those who gave their lives in service to this nation.

We owe them a great debt of gratitude, and a continued commitment to creating a truely United States.

We owe them a commitment to today, and to the future of every American, that we, as Americans, are determined to fulfill.

Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to lift up our nation in brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.

I have a dream today!

That today, we, as one nation, can rise up and live out the true meaning of the creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream today!

That here and across this great land, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners can sit down together and celebrate at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream today!

That my children -- and yours -- can live together in a nation where they are judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

That we, as one nation, have, out of the mountain of despair, brought forth a stone of hope. And that with this faith, we can and will transform the jangling discords of our nation into a symphony. That we can work together, pray together, struggle together, and stand up for freedom... together... knowing that we are free Americans!

This is the day! Today is that day, now is the moment, when we can all sing together with new meaning..."

He starts slowly and quietly, and is soon overwhelmed by the crowd....

"My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,
From every mountainside, let freedom ring!"

And then, in every city and in every town of America, the bells start ringing...
posted by markkraft at 3:28 AM on November 4, 2008 [4 favorites]

Google maps has yer voting location right here. I had to double check this morning because I was paranoid. It's 5:30 now, polls open at 6 here. Going to throw on some clothes, slick down the hair and go.
posted by desjardins at 3:34 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Damn Palau thread fooled me! It felt so good to actually vote. I feel like I've been waiting forever.
posted by defenestration at 3:39 AM on November 4, 2008

These guys are giving it to Obama.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 3:44 AM on November 4, 2008

I always spend too much time online in the mornings. Not today. I'm officially taking a hiatus from MetaFilter until after I've cast my vote for Barack Obama.

See you all in a couple of hours.
posted by Faint of Butt at 3:44 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Everything I know needed to know about our electoral system I learned from watching the West Wing.
posted by dirtdirt at 3:45 AM on November 4, 2008 [5 favorites]

This is probably as good of place to share my Obama story. In 2006, when Audacity of Hope came out, the company I worked for hosted a giant book signing for him. It was a few days before the elections and he signed more than 2000 books. Then he went to a rally to support democratic candidates. His schedule was free at night though. It turns out he wanted to be back in Illinois early enough to take his kids trick or treating.
posted by drezdn at 3:46 AM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

Well, I'm off to bed America.
I'll see you all on the flip side.
Good luck.
posted by nudar at 3:47 AM on November 4, 2008

Hell, if I weren't in a battle ground state, I'd be writing in Rev. Wright at this point. I know more about where he stands than whee John McCain does.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 3:52 AM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Go 'Bama!
posted by awfurby at 3:56 AM on November 4, 2008

. Hell, I've discovered I can now name all 50 states. Even Maryland. Who the hell remembers Maryland?

When trying to name all of the states, the one I consistently blank on is Michigan. It just blends in with the lakes.

(I won't be able to vote until late this afternoon, I can't imagine what the line is going to look like - I hope someone brings beers.)
posted by grapefruitmoon at 3:59 AM on November 4, 2008

Who the hell remembers Maryland?

As an Aussie, I have awesome memories of preschool and peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches in Maryland.
Also, placeholder.
posted by jacalata at 4:02 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

...and I'm about to go vote in Maryland - pbthththt!! And after that, I'm avoiding the news as if it were poison until about 11 tonight. In the interim, I may worry the japa mala right off my wrist.
posted by ersatzkat at 4:05 AM on November 4, 2008

I have been up since 5:00 and I will walk to the polling place shortly to vote for Obama. This has been the most exciting election ever and I'm still hoping that this state will magically turn blue.
posted by francesca too at 4:24 AM on November 4, 2008

I have been up since 5:00 and I will walk to the polling place shortly to vote for Obama. This has been the most exciting election ever and I'm still hoping that this state will magically turn blue.

Seriously.
posted by Science! at 4:26 AM on November 4, 2008

Holy crap. You're a bored scientist as well? MetaFilter is mega weird.
posted by Science! at 4:29 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

I'm up and heading out way earlier than I ought to be on a normal day. I expect a significant line.
posted by gimonca at 4:29 AM on November 4, 2008

I wish I could take the day off and just stay home to watch election coverage. It's probably a masochistic thing to want to do, but hey. Historic indeed.
posted by Phire at 4:32 AM on November 4, 2008

I have film class today. Good way to eat away a chunk of the day. Then, tonight, I'm glued to the interwebs and teevee.

So psyched.
posted by defenestration at 4:35 AM on November 4, 2008

6:20 AM on line in New York City. Line out the door, down the hall and outside the polling place. My wait was about 50 minutes, in the end. I hope it goes without saying that I've never seen a line like that.

And, yeah, I got a bit misty pulling the lever. I'm proud of my country today. I'll be even prouder tonight, champagne in hand, toasting Obama/Biden.
posted by minervous at 4:35 AM on November 4, 2008

The sirens showing up in my reader weirded me out. How does one do that?
posted by gman at 4:36 AM on November 4, 2008

The sirens showing up in my reader weirded me out. How does one do that?

One uses one's admin powers.
posted by empyrean at 4:42 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

champagne in hand

What a coincidence: me too!
posted by uncleozzy at 4:45 AM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Yay! Pulled the lever and I'm feeling goooooooooood....
posted by jeanmari at 4:46 AM on November 4, 2008

I have a bottle of wine that I've been saving to toast Obama tonight (or else to drown my sorrows-- but I don't think that will happen). Happy voting to our friends down south....
posted by jokeefe at 4:55 AM on November 4, 2008

I just got back from voting. I'm in North Carolina, and this is the first time in my life I've felt like my vote counted for something. (NC was not even close to being a swing state in 2000 and 2004, before that I lived in Illinois, which was also not close in 1992 or 1996.) I couldn't help grinning as I cast my vote for Obama. I'll be biting my nails for the next fourteen hours or so, but my champagne's in the fridge.
posted by Daily Alice at 4:55 AM on November 4, 2008

Go hit the streets. Help make it a landslide.
posted by lunit at 4:56 AM on November 4, 2008

Got to my polling place way, way out in the Chicago burbs at 6.05, was tenth in line. The line got a lot longer just in the time I was there. Friends in Chicago proper are reporting much longer lines already.

Let's go do this shit, y'all.
posted by sugarfish at 4:58 AM on November 4, 2008

No lines at all here in Queens. I love our pull-lever machines.
posted by Skorgu at 4:58 AM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

Don't let us down, America.
posted by unSane at 5:01 AM on November 4, 2008

I've just had a terrible thought. Remember that election in Futurama? The one where Nixon was set to lose the election but then won it thanks to the robot vote?

Have you people forgotten who has been making all these calls for the McCain campaign?! He has a lock on the robot vote!
posted by Serial Killer Slumber Party at 5:02 AM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

It is Obama for the White House (kenyan reggae, awesome)
posted by anthill at 5:04 AM on November 4, 2008 [10 favorites]

The sirens showing up in my reader weirded me out. How does one do that?

One uses one's admin powers.

You can all be thankful I have no such powers.
posted by gman at 5:09 AM on November 4, 2008

From afar this is like watching Apollo 11 (yeah, I'm that old).

America, you've cleared the tower - go for the moon.
posted by hangashore at 5:11 AM on November 4, 2008 [7 favorites]

I'm off to the polls! I'm in MA, so I'm sure we'll go Obama anyway, but I wouldn't miss this for the world. Then I'm off to do storytime for a bunch of preschoolers who have no idea what a big day it is. I refrained from picking "The Audacity of Hope" for their story, but I will subliminally encourage them to be Democrats while I read to them about ducklings.
posted by Biblio at 5:12 AM on November 4, 2008

It is Obama for the White House (kenyan reggae, awesome)

There's something about American state names and cities in a Kenyan accent that is totally ace.
posted by Happy Dave at 5:18 AM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

mathowie added the fucking sirens, y'all.
What do the sirens mean?
And now there are fuckin' Mefi sirens.
The sirens showing up in my reader weirded me out.

Fortunately for this great nation, people who prove unable to distinguish between a siren and a flashing light will be disqualified from voting.
posted by chlorus at 5:18 AM on November 4, 2008 [7 favorites]

anthill - that is *so* fucking awesome. The vocoder tips it over the edge.
posted by Jofus at 5:21 AM on November 4, 2008

Drove by my polling place and HOLY SHIT!!! I've never seen a line stretch out of the building before. This one snaked 3/4ths of the way around the parking lot. Probably five times as many people as I've ever seen there.

I decided to exercise the better part of valor and try to sneak home after lunch an try again.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 5:22 AM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

It is raining here in my part of NC. That's historically not good for turnout. I hope people don't start thinking this thing is in the bag and stay home. It was nice to feel like my vote may have counted, that's not usually the case in this state for me. Yesterday I knocked on doors and today I'm on call for people needing rides to the polls. I just wish I would have volunteered earlier, I feel much more invested in this thing now.
posted by marxchivist at 5:22 AM on November 4, 2008

MetaFilter, you have been my home for long lonely hours of Sarah Palin debates, eight years of commiseration over the Bush administration, and hundreds of stirring speeches of white on blue about hope, transformation, and grammar. You have stuck with me through gallons of slung mud over a grueling election season.

Now is the time, today is the day. America, this is our moment! This is our day! This is finally the time for us to cast off the shackles of BushCo and vote someone extraordinary and inspiring into the leadership of our nation.

In the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope. For when we have faced down impossible odds; when we’ve been told that we’re not ready, or that we shouldn’t try, or that we can’t, generations of Americans have responded with a simple creed that sums up the spirit of a people.

Yes we can.

Let's get out there and KICK THE RASCALS OUT!
posted by lostburner at 5:23 AM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Which website has the pretties live-updating Results Map to watch today?
posted by nitsuj at 5:23 AM on November 4, 2008

I've never even noticed a new voter registration table in my tiny town before. Now it was taking up about 20% of the gym. And it was at least half full. At 6 am. Wow.
posted by DU at 5:23 AM on November 4, 2008

I love the smell of voting in the morning.

Smells like... victory.
posted by starman at 5:27 AM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

I am in Beijing tonight. It'll be interesting to read the China Daily tomorrow morning and chat to my work colleagues from all corners of the work.

PLEASE, Please, please let me wake to awesome news. President-Elect Obama.
posted by michswiss at 5:28 AM on November 4, 2008

Man, I voted the shit out of that ballot.
posted by Science! at 5:29 AM on November 4, 2008 [25 favorites]

It's raining (okay, drizzling) in Los Angeles - when does that ever happen!? Hopefully it'll dry up by daylight, and not affect voter turnout.
posted by Xere at 5:30 AM on November 4, 2008

> From afar this is like watching Apollo 11 (yeah, I'm that old).

Funny, I was thinking exactly that earlier today. I think Nixon's phone call sums up my sentiments...

For every American this has to be the proudest day of our lives, and for people all over the world I am sure that they, too, join with Americans in recognizing what an immense feat this is.

It might just be you Americans who are going to the poles today (you are going to vote right?) but much of the world is willing you on. You can do it.
posted by adamt at 5:35 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Just voted, southwest side of Chicago. Walked over with hubby. Had a choice of "paper or plastic" voting options. I dunno. I just don't trust the electronic ones yet so I went paper; hubby (a techy guy) asked for the electronic one but ultimately switched to paper as there was only one electronic machine available and the line was long.

I think it took a total of 20 minutes, maybe a half hour from the time we got to the polling place til we left. People were so friendly, chatting with strangers and catching up on local gossip with people they knew. One guy was on his way to work at UPS and was in full uniform, so he was joshed quite a bit, "Hey, is my package gonna be late with you in line like this?" "Eh, you'll get it tomorrow."

Happy Election Day all! Either way, it's a pretty cool day.
posted by macadamiaranch at 5:38 AM on November 4, 2008

I posted this in the thread about Obama's grandma, but I'll say it here again because it feels so good: I live in a tiny little township in the sticks of Chester County, PA. Our polling place is larger and more sturdy than a double-wide trailer, but not by much.

I got in line to vote at 6:23 this morning, and was 18th in line to vote. By the time the polls opened at 7, there were over 100 people in line. By the time I cast my ballot and walked outside, that number was easily 200 and was snaking around the parking lot. With a whopping 25 parking spaces, the parking lot was filled to capacity. People were parking on the grass in front of the building, cars lined the road for a half mile in either direction, and there was a line of at least a dozen cars of folks -- ones who clearly hadn't done the math about the number of spaces vs. the number of parked cars around them -- who were trying to turn into the parking lot.

This is at a tiny, rural township about an hour outside of Philly, in the middle of horse and farm country. If this is anything close to a microcosm of what the rest of the nation is seeing, we're going to have a record voter turnout.

As for me, I'm so proud about this day and the hope and smiles I saw on the faces of my fellow voters. I've spent most of the morning tearing up and will probably continue to do so throughout the day. And now, I'm off to phone bank at the local campaign office.

YES WE CAN. YES WE WILL.
posted by shiu mai baby at 5:38 AM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

The most interesting photos of queues you'll ever see are turning up on Flickr.
posted by Jofus at 5:39 AM on November 4, 2008 [9 favorites]

Well, I'm not getting anything done today. I can't speak for every single person in the UK, but so many of us here are rooting for America today. Good luck, god bless, and if Obama loses, we need to pull together even more than we have done over the past 6 months.

(I'm emigrating in the next month, so you're voting for my future too.)
posted by saturnine at 5:40 AM on November 4, 2008

from The Cure at Troy

Human beings suffer,
they torture one another,
they get hurt and get hard.
No poem or play or song
can fully right a wrong
inflicted or endured.

The innocent in gaols
beat on their bars together.
A hunger-striker's father
stands in the graveyard dumb.
The police widow in veils
faints at the funeral home.

History says, Don't hope
on this side of the grave.
But then, once in a lifetime
the longed for tidal wave
of justice can rise up,
and hope and history rhyme.

So hope for a great sea-change
on the far side of revenge.
Believe that a further shore
is reachable from here.
Believe in miracles
and cures and healing wells.

Call the miracle self-healing:
The utter self-revealing
double-take of feeling.
If there's fire on the mountain
Or lightning and storm
And a god speaks from the sky

That means someone is hearing
the outcry and the birth-cry
of new life at its term.

~ Seamus Heaney ~
posted by jeanmari at 5:42 AM on November 4, 2008 [10 favorites]

John McCain, once again, fails miserably in an attempt to display his hipness.
posted by uncleozzy at 5:46 AM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

On my way out the door this morning, my six-year-old granddaughter asked me if I was going to vote. I told her "Yes" and she rushed me, saying "You have to vote for BarackObama for meeeeeee!"

I thought about that a lot. I'm of the age where voting really doesn't mean much for my future anymore- there isn't all that much left of it. But for hers? Hell Yes.

I voted for her future today. I voted for the America I want to believe in, the one I've thought I believed in most of my life. It would be nice to live the rest of my life with some of the cynicism washed away.
posted by pjern at 5:46 AM on November 4, 2008 [56 favorites]

takes swig of theCroft's homeopathic beer

I think Obama will win by 5 points nationwide. I wish it would be a larger margin, but I'll take 0.005 points at this point.
posted by lukemeister at 5:48 AM on November 4, 2008

I'm of the age where voting really doesn't mean much for my future anymore

Dude, you are only 54. You aren't even getting Social Security benefits yet, which is something that the next President is going to influence a great deal.
posted by DU at 5:49 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

5 PM we get home from work.

5:30 PM we'll be at the polling place.

When we're done, we're home on the couch, glued to the TV.

My kid is due in May. It would make me pretty darn happy to see my baby born under a president I can respect. To have a more hopeful future for my kid a real possibility.

Later this month I'll be in D.C. for a meeting. Those moving vans parked in front of the White House will be a sweet, sweet sight. Don't let the doors hit you in the ass on the way out come January, W.
posted by caution live frogs at 5:49 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Six months ago, my father (a retired truck mechanic) said, "No one around here is gonna vote for a guy named Barack Hussein Obama." Outside of Milwaukee, my home state is a land of mostly white, blue collar, deer hunting Packer fans. And a black man is going to carry Wisconsin.
posted by desjardins at 5:49 AM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

I expect a significant line.

Sounds like my kind of party.

Sorry to lower the tone, and... GO FOR IT AMERICA! This part of London is willing you on.
posted by Myeral at 5:51 AM on November 4, 2008

That was the first time I've ever voted and came out and did a full-on Roger Daltrey, with the accompanying Pete Townshend. "YEEEAAAAAAH!"
posted by steef at 5:51 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Looking at google hot trends, Obama is in there several times (including Obama wins). McCain didn't even crack the top 100. Hopefully this is a good time.

From fivethirtyeight:Henry V
posted by drezdn at 5:51 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Southern CT - In the Heart of Obama Territory - 540am

Lines are not that long - maybe 40-50 people ahead of me as we wait for the polls to open, all of the poll workers are perky and smiling, several jowly white men are not. There seem to be an extraordinary number of working class, blacks, and hispanic people, but also the expected suburbanites. The new voting machines have privacy booths and voting forms similar to a multiple choice test, which are marked with felt pen and scanned. First the queue at the check-in, then queue to mark your form, then queue to scan. The scanner had a problem while I waited, but it was fixed in 2-3 minutes. I'm done, my bit part in the play of history complete.

Its going to be a nice day.
posted by sfts2 at 5:53 AM on November 4, 2008

That was the first time I've ever voted and came out and did a full-on Roger Daltrey, with the accompanying Pete Townshend. "YEEEAAAAAAH!"

I hope you then dramatically put on your sunglasses and walked quickly off camera.
posted by The Loch Ness Monster at 5:54 AM on November 4, 2008 [7 favorites]

I just watched Obama vote on CNN's website. Dude cracks me up:

Obama: "I hope this machine works - I'll be really embarrassed if it doesn't"

Pollworker: "It will, it will"

*click, whirr, click*

Pollworker: "Here's your sticker"

Crowd: "WOOOOOOOO!"

Obama, holding up his sticker: "I voted."


Hell yeah!
posted by Happy Dave at 5:55 AM on November 4, 2008 [6 favorites]

I just went to try to volunteer, and locally they have more volunteers than they even need. I believe "glut" was the word they used. So instead, I'm going to go north to a smaller, more rural district at about noon. They are lacking volunteers, and frankly, I'm hoping we can do more good there anyway. I know people in my neighborhood are voting Obama almost without exception. Up there? Not so much.
posted by Stewriffic at 5:56 AM on November 4, 2008

I just watched Barack Obama cast his vote in Chicago via CNN live video - he chuckled when he fed his ballot into the machine and said, "Is this going to work? Because it's gonna be really embarrassing if it doesn't."
posted by peachfuzz at 5:59 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

I go to my polling place in one hour. I'm so excited I can hardly stand it.

I am going in to work, but the consensus seems to be that the big TV in the little conference room will be tuned to something like CNN all day. And tonight? Election watching party, oh my yes.

Please, everyone, cross your fingers that Prop 8 in California goes down in flames.
posted by rtha at 5:59 AM on November 4, 2008 [7 favorites]

Forgot to say - it worked. It's going to be a good day.
posted by peachfuzz at 5:59 AM on November 4, 2008

Just voted in Tallahassee. I wish I got a gigantic "I Voted" car magnet instead of this little sticker. Maybe I'll put it on my sunglasses (on one of the lenses). Or put it in the center of my forehead.

Local precinct was extremely empty at 8:30; clerk said it had been very busy not long before that and they anticipate huge turnout this afternoon. Unsurprising considering the enormous lines we've had in Tallahassee during the entire early voting period. I dodged early voting explicitly because of those lines and it couldn't have worked out better for me today.

GO VOTE. GO VOTE! GO VOTE!!!
posted by empyrean at 6:00 AM on November 4, 2008

The energy in Chicagoland is electric. The woman in front of me in line was so excited she was bouncing on the balls of her feet.

yes, I'm 33 years old and I skipped through the parking lot
posted by desjardins at 6:01 AM on November 4, 2008 [4 favorites]

Everytime I read about one of these unscripted, genuine moments from Obama, it makes me a little bit more hopeful for the future, heh.
posted by Phire at 6:01 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Here in DC, polls opened at 7:00, so we thought we'd beat the rush and get there at 6:45. When we got there, there were about 75 people in line; at 7:00, there were another 75 behind us. Things were moving along pretty well, so we voted at 7:45. When we got out, I saw that there were 200 or so lined up--glad we went when we did.
posted by MrMoonPie at 6:01 AM on November 4, 2008

"It's been a long, long time comin', but I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will."
posted by kirkaracha at 6:02 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

My daughter is voting for the first time today and I think she's getting sick of hearing me gush about it: How today is a great moment in history. How she should soak it all up and remember it always, so she can tell her own children about it someday (the way I tell her about how I felt voting for the first time for Bill Clinton). How her generation is part of a decisive shift in the direction and mood of the country. I want her to be proud of herself and to know how important her right to vote is.

Of course, here in Kansas, our Democratic votes won't make a difference. Kansas is "solid McCain" but it's fun to dream that we could make a surprise flip for Obama.
posted by amyms at 6:02 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

My roommates and I got up at 5:45 to go vote. We marched the 1 block to our polling place shouting "Barack Obama! Yes We Can" and clapping in rhythm. Probably pissed off a lot of sleeping neighbors but I'm sure they'll understand.

The line was short but a bit slow, election workers haven't gotten in their rhythm yet. We were probably about 20th in line but it took about 20 minutes to get up to the box. Connect-the-arrow paper ballots.

Waiting outside the Hyde Park Neighborhood Club, our polling place, for my roommate to finish, we saw three black helicopters hovering in the air to the north. Our neighbor came out and said, gee, I wonder who's voting over there. Yes, that's right, Barack Obama, who lives a few blocks north of us. I don't know if they were news helicopters or secret service, but they hovered there for probably 20 minutes.

Then we went to Cafeteria Valois for breakfast and about half the people had Obama t-shirts or buttons. I imagine things might get a bit crazy around here, whether he wins or loses, because of the press and the motorcade and all. But I'm sure downtown near the rally will be even crazier.
posted by mai at 6:02 AM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Ferris Matthew says take the day off.

Do it, and you'll be singin' and dancin' when the polls close!
posted by markkraft at 6:07 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

I'm imagining Antonin Scalia on Wednesday morning, ambling down the stairs in a bathrobe. Opens the front door, grabs the Post. Scans past the blaring headline to find the Senate numbers.
A curse.
He walks into the kitchen. The bacon is already frying.
Another curse.
"Maureen, not this morning. We got any wheat germ? And skim milk?"
posted by Killick at 6:09 AM on November 4, 2008 [14 favorites]

As a Canadian living in Paris but holding a student visa to the US, let me just say:

Don't !@#$ this up, guys. We're counting on y'all.

Allez votez!

merde!
posted by LMGM at 6:11 AM on November 4, 2008

Are there any plans for a Metafilter IRC channel to cover the election? I know about Metachat, but I wonder if there should be something different for this event.
posted by adrianhon at 6:13 AM on November 4, 2008

Another Canadian sincerely hoping for the best for you all.
I would imagine the experience of voting for Obama today is like giving a big fuck you to the last 8 years. And it must feel great.
posted by chococat at 6:14 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

In a small suburb of South East London this morning I saw 3 "vote obama" signs.

Sometimes
posted by Augenblick at 6:16 AM on November 4, 2008 [5 favorites]

Go ahead. DESTROY MLK's dream!
posted by hexatron at 6:17 AM on November 4, 2008

Jofus, I was actually in the line in the photo from your last link, although I wasn't in the actual photo. It was way busier than I've ever seen.
posted by snofoam at 6:17 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

voting for Obama today is like giving a big fuck you to the last 8 years

People in my neighborhood love war and hate ethnics, so really it's like a big fuck you to the guy who cut me off in the supermarket parking lot last week.
posted by uncleozzy at 6:18 AM on November 4, 2008 [9 favorites]

I have been reading MetaFilter for years and years, and it is so nice to hear all the hope and optimism in this thread. You guys deserve it.

I'm still going to be watching this election all day from my office here in Toronto, biting my nails and hoping you guys don't fuck this up, but I have hope that when I go to sleep tonight, you will have elected someone I will be proud to see our Prime Minister associate with.

Oh my god, guys. A black man who doesn't talk about women's health in scare quotes? Who actually crouches down so he can look children in the eye while he listens to them? Who dances with Ellen? Who believes you deserve a real discussion about race and class? Who is eloquent and measured and calm and who didn't run a dirty campaign when it would have been so easy?

Man, when I hoped you could get someone better than Bush, I didn't know Santa Claus was listening! This day is going to be so awesome.
posted by heatherann at 6:18 AM on November 4, 2008 [14 favorites]

Then I'm off to do storytime for a bunch of preschoolers who have no idea what a big day it is.

There's always Mama voted for Obama...
posted by leahwrenn at 6:18 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Never have I seen lines for the polls like I did this morning. 10 minutes before they opened, there were 150 people lined up in our sleepy little corner of Brookline. I was a tad late for work, but every supervisor here is shooing people out the door at 10:00 and 2:00 to beat the lines that are being reported everywhere. No snags, no shadiness, just... massive turnout.

It's actually happening, isn't it?
posted by Mayor West at 6:21 AM on November 4, 2008

Here's my vote.
posted by snofoam at 6:24 AM on November 4, 2008 [5 favorites]

Heavy crowds and tons of happy people in Brooklyn.

But I am worried about shennanigans in Ohio, Florida, etc.

I am also worried about acts of violence by hard-core right wing gun toting rurals. I would hate to have a big win mared by sporadic nutjobs on a rampage.
posted by vrakatar at 6:24 AM on November 4, 2008

From what I can tell, my department is voting overwhelmingly Republican (hi from Colorado Springs). I'll be checking in frequently throughout the day for sanity refreshers. Please keep me happy.

Another predictor - Obama won 18-2 in my son's first grade election yesterday. Go youth vote!
posted by bibliowench at 6:25 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Fortunately for this great nation, people who prove unable to distinguish between a siren and a flashing light will be disqualified from voting.

The siren is implicit, sirrah.
posted by cortex at 6:25 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Hehe. Since I might be the only mefite who actually really likes PitchforkMedia, check out their site today.
posted by bardic at 6:26 AM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

From afar this is like watching Apollo 11 (yeah, I'm that old).

I'm voting for Obama, but wow, it's worse than teenage girls at a Beatles concert in here. Will we Americans every mature to the point where we don't deify our leaders? Will we ever learn that not to vest in them all our hopes and dreams for a better future? This election isn't supposed to be about Obama or McCain. It is supposed to be about us. It supposed to be about the people realizing their government has lied to them, squandered their treasury and the goodwill of their nation, and have chosen to wrench control away from the crook and restore it in themselves, not in someone else.

If you worked on the Obama campaign, especially is states like Virginia, I think you are the ones who did something heroic. That to me is the symbol of hope, that people were able to organize themselves around a common goal and invest the time and make the sacrifices to achieve it. The fact that Obama was the goal is sort of secondary in my mind. The fact is he is untested, and in my mind at least that makes him an unknown quantity. The country isn't saved by voting him into office, we've just improved its chances that it could be saved. But the work to actually save it is still to come.

It is still our responsibility to let Obama know that the greater scrutiny we applied to the last administration we are now going to apply to his. He does not get to get away with doing everything that Bush and Cheney did, because we put him there to be better. We all need to remember that if he wins, he's going to inherit Gitmo and Iraq. Bush's war becomes his war. The rendition programs become his. The wiretapping is done by his NSA. All those unbelievable horrors will continue under Obama from sheer institutional inertia if nothing else.

With each passing day of Obama's presidency, anything he fails to change becomes part of his legacy. They become the things about Obama that the next guy is going to say he'll change. Bush and Cheney left the Executive with more power than it has ever had in history, and the temptation for Obama will be to hold on to that power. And we will be tempted to let him out of a misplaced sense of parity or the morally vacuous sense that he'll use that power for good instead of evil. We have to resist this temptation. Because it's too much power. The framers of the Constitution thought it was too much power in 1789, and that was before anyone could even conceive of a CIA or a trillion dollar defense budget. The government, by concentrating all its power in the executive, has reached a point where it is a danger to political and economic liberty. It is a monster. When Obama takes the reins of that government, he will be the face of that monster. And the monster becomes all the more dangerous for having a pleasant face. Remember that we sent him there to saly that monster, not to befriend it.

Everyone is entitled to celebrate their victory, and if you worked hard to bring about this day, I suppose you deserve it. But remember why you wanted change. Change does not happen on election day or inauguration day. Change happens when the orders are signed and the bills become law. Pulling the lever is easy. None of us are being shot at on our way to the polls, and how many of us would still vote if we were. This was the easy part. The hard part is still to come.
posted by Pastabagel at 6:27 AM on November 4, 2008 [64 favorites]

And 2 Paultards out of 21? That's quite disturbing.

It's just northern New Hampshire. Don't worry. Down in the Southern part of the state, where people like living in a society together, you don't find that.

The miracle is the margin for Obama.
posted by Miko at 6:27 AM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

...our sleepy little corner of Brookline.

Wow, massive turnout in MA is interesting.

Here's my vote.

I didn't think to take a picture until it was far, far too late. I considered saving my sticker for posterity, but there isn't anything on it that indicates I voted for Obama. First act of the supermajority Congress should be to send a souvenir to everyone who voted The Right Way.
posted by DU at 6:27 AM on November 4, 2008

On the half mile drive to the poll, I must have seen a couple dozen of new Obama signs placed at every intersection. At least two per corner, facing every direction. At long turn lanes, there would be four or five signs in the median, flipped to alternate between Change & Obama/Biden.

As I neared the Elk Lodge my precinct votes in, there was a major intersection blanketed with Obama signs, including one ENORMOUS yard sign (must have been 8 feet wide, 5 feet tall). Traffic was honking at the senior ladies waving Obama signs on the corner. They looked incredibly happy.

I've never seen this kind of support and unity during an election like I have over the last month. I'm actually a little choked up about it.
posted by empyrean at 6:27 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Jofus, those pictures made me cry. Like this thread! I am so not being productive today.

And ya'll in red states, like me; even if we can't flip the Presidential votes, we can sure as heck elect a lot of downticket Dems and progressive initiatives. And in a way, that's an even sweeter revenge, because the gains are more long-term than just eight years of Obama.

Here in Texas, I voted for Dems running for judge, and funds for refurbishing our one public hospital. Totally worth the effort.
posted by emjaybee at 6:28 AM on November 4, 2008

even if we can't flip the Presidential votes, we can sure as heck elect a lot of downticket Dems and progressive initiatives.

And you can lend a lot of strength to a popular-vote mandate. It's important to show that strength to encourage others in your state who think like you, but feel they have to give up because their numbers are smaller. Every positive change starts small and starts with the bold, those who insist on being heard.
posted by Miko at 6:31 AM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

It's actually happening, isn't it?

Fingers crossed.

I was reading this article on National Review this morning...most of its commentators are predicting an Obama win of varying magnitudes, and one guy added "If the latter scenario pans out, here* is a cinematic depiction of how we conservatives will view election-night coverage."

* link is SFW and hilarious.
posted by The Card Cheat at 6:31 AM on November 4, 2008 [4 favorites]

How am I supposed to get any work done today if I have to keep waiting for my ancient computer to reload two giant threads (got PoFi going too).

Here's the drinking game-- a shot for every Obama percentage point over 50. A White Russian From My House if Obama takes Alaska. A Blue Moon beer for every red state turned blue.

Straight whisky, from the bottle, chugged, if McCain pulls it off.

I'm going to be pretty drunk by midnight, either way.
posted by nax at 6:31 AM on November 4, 2008

empyrean, I know what you mean. Yesterday when I went out for lunch I passed one girl on the corner holding up the big Obama HOPE poster. No one else around, no crowd of people, no one else on any other corners. Just one girl with an unshakable smile and her poster. I honked like a crazyperson, waved at her like a lunatic, and then had to pull over to weep like a little kid.
posted by shiu mai baby at 6:32 AM on November 4, 2008 [7 favorites]

I took my US citizenship exam last week. It was with a tinge of sadness that I looked at the "CONGRATULATIONS!" written on my paper, knowing that I have to wait until at least December for the swearing-in, that I won't be an American experiencing this seismic change for the better, but a resident alien, a foreigner unable to take my place in the tidal wave.

Do it for me, for us, the ones who can't, y'all. Make it count.
posted by subbes at 6:33 AM on November 4, 2008 [8 favorites]

Well, I voted for Cynthia McKinney. Not a Green, I've just always liked Cynthia McKinney. I used to live in her district though not while she was in Congress.

If I still lived in Georgia, I'd have voted for Obama though. I think he could win there. I was in Atlanta in October and Obama people were out in numbers touting early voting. Almost two million people voted in early voting there compared to 3.3 million total voters in 2004. It seems to me that most of those new voters must be African-Americans. The best part is this means that redneck motherfucker Saxby Chambliss might go down. That's the race I'm going watching tonight.
posted by GalaxieFiveHundred at 6:34 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

"If elected, Barack Obama would be fifth youngest elected president, just 12 months older than the most recent Democratic president, Bill Clinton. Others younger include Theodore Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Ulysses S. Grant."
posted by kirkaracha at 6:35 AM on November 4, 2008

My kid is due in May. It would make me pretty darn happy to see my baby born under a president I can respect.

Our son was conceived the day after Clinton took office in '93.
posted by lukemeister at 6:35 AM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

That was the first time I've ever voted and came out and did a full-on Roger Daltrey, with the accompanying Pete Townshend. "YEEEAAAAAAH!"

YEEEAAAAAAH! Meet the new boss, same as hold on a minute
posted by tomcooke at 6:38 AM on November 4, 2008 [16 favorites]

I'm a resident alien so can't vote, but did got up early to take my wife to the local fire station (Somerville, MA). We were there 15 minutes before the polls opened, and already at least 100 people were waiting. It took us about 30 minutes to go through the process, and the line had pretty much doubled during that time.

I'm so not going to get any work done (and think the F5 stickler will be rubbed off the button by 5 today...)

GOBAMA!
posted by AwkwardPause at 6:38 AM on November 4, 2008

Got up at 5 to get over to NJ PS 16 before the doors opened. The line was already stretched around the corner, in a state that hasn't ever been in question. After I voted, I realized that even with a segment of the line inside the polling station, the line was still stretched around the corner outside.

It had doubled in 20 minutes. In New Jersey, at 6 in the morning.

Hooray for America!
posted by Remy at 6:38 AM on November 4, 2008

Ha - stickler!
posted by AwkwardPause at 6:39 AM on November 4, 2008

pastabagel, I know what you mean, but there will be plenty of time to criticize and dispute after the election. Nothing wrong with people who've worked hard and been terrified for the future of their country for 8 long years letting themselves shrug off despair for just one freakin' day and feel a little irrational exuberance, you know.

Obama's flaws have always been discussed extensively on the blue, and they will be again. Today isn't about that. We're not going to canonize the guy. But after 8 years of darkness, we deserve to dance around in the sunlight.
posted by emjaybee at 6:39 AM on November 4, 2008 [29 favorites]

No wait at all at our polling place in NoVA (a.k.a. "not real Virginia"), at least for those of us at the end of the alphabet. (Sweet revenge for always having to line up in alphabetical order in elementary school...)

And congrats to you, subbes!
posted by JoanArkham at 6:39 AM on November 4, 2008

F5. Now you tell me.
posted by nax at 6:41 AM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

I would imagine the experience of voting for Obama today is like giving a big fuck you to the last 8 years.

I actually said to myself as I pushed Obama, TAKE THAT GEORGE BUSH!!!

Arrived at my polling place in western NC at 6:45AM. Had a 45 minute wait. Don't know if that is normal because it is my first time voting here since I recently moved. However, there was no line when I walked out of the polling place at 7:35AM.

"Impress upon children the truth that the exercise of the elective franchise is a social duty of as solemn a nature as man can be called to perform; that a man may not innocently trifle with his vote; that every elector is a trustee as well for others as himself and that every measure he supports has an important bearing on the interests of others as well as on his own. "

Daniel Webster
posted by netbros at 6:43 AM on November 4, 2008

Hey guys, they just let me vote for Obama....IN OHIO!

Nice weather here today, smooth sailing at the polls and a nice election watcher dude to politely ask me how everything went on my way out the door.


Man, I'm STILL depressed from 04. Let today be the CURE.
posted by Otis at 6:44 AM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

btw, great FPP title.
posted by bardic at 6:46 AM on November 4, 2008

MSNBC is the place to be for Obama TV viewers. Why? Because just as the liberals hate FOX news, Bush/McCain fans/deadenders hate MSNBC. And even though that programming is completely biased and theatric, I just need to celebrate the delicious tears of the Bush/Palin ditto-heads. Now that the Republicans have ruined everything they touched I'm just gleeful to have the opportunity to feed their suffering.

And Joe Lieberman. We get to throw him under the bus right? Some sort of official shunning? Something involving being abandoned naked in the desert?

It's going to be a gleeful four years of Republican blubbering and histrionics. We will all be called communists and fags and terrorists and...... best of all...... liberals. And Republicans will sneer when they say it. Liberals. Like being a liberal is as bad as being a Nazi. And every time they say it I'll giggle and clap my hands with glee.

I'm a liberal. And so is the president. Who got elected in a landslide. Liberal liberal liberal. Pretty please please Republicans - scowl and glare when I say it. Liberal. And if it's not too much to ask, could you turn red, tear up, and call me a commie?

HA!!!! HAHAHAHA!!!!!!! Joy joy joy.

Suck it Republicans.
posted by Ragma at 6:46 AM on November 4, 2008 [4 favorites]

("swing" states polls close at ___ EST)

7PM
Indiana, Virgina, Georgia

7:30PM
North Carolina, Ohio, West Virginia

8PM
New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Michigan, Maine's electoral vote, Florida

8:30PM
Arkansas

9PM
Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska's electoral vote, North Dakota, South Dakota, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona

10PM EST
Montana, Nevada, Iowa
posted by lunit at 6:49 AM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

We got to our polling place in downtown Philly around 7:30 and waited in line for over an hour to vote. (Had the kids with us, who wanted to be a part of it, but they got too cold and whiny, and they didn't want to be late for school. So my husband dropped them off and came back to the line before I'd made it to the door of the polling place.) There were only three machines, but they were all working, and the folks running the show inside were in good spirits. There were at least three lawyer/poll-watchers who came out periodically to talk to the people in line about what was going on inside (even offering to drive people to a nearby McDonald's if they needed a bathroom break). Old people and people using canes and wheelchairs were moved ahead to the front of the line ("Age before beauty!" the line workers called out as they brought them through). I took a picture inside the voting booth for my kids to see what it looked like. I was #134.
posted by mothershock at 6:49 AM on November 4, 2008 [6 favorites]

Game over, man, GAME OVER!!!!!!!!

Drudge called. He wants his sirens back.
posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 6:50 AM on November 4, 2008

So what format did everyone vote in? Touchscreen, punch-outs, huge lever machines?

Scantron style here in Tallahassee, just fill in the bubbles. Beats those hanging chads of old, that's for sure!
posted by empyrean at 6:51 AM on November 4, 2008

I'm gonna take a shower so I can look all pretty when I go vote for Obama. I might wear a prom dress. Definitely wearing my "kiss me, I'm voting" button. La, la, la!!!

(taking the opportunity to have ONE DAY without being dark and cynical about politics. even hoping it might last for awhile.)
posted by nosila at 6:51 AM on November 4, 2008

Thanks, JoanArkham! :)

Empyrean, my fiancée early voted at the Leon courthouse and later mused that it was like being back in school taking a Scantron test.
posted by subbes at 6:55 AM on November 4, 2008

There were three touch-screens being used in the corner, but we were just handed scantron sheets. I suppose if I had wanted to use the touch-screen I could have asked about it. Sounds like other NoVA polls had touch-screens only, or people were given a choice.

Polls in VA close at 7, but anyone in line at 7 gets to stay until they can vote. Could be a long one...
posted by JoanArkham at 6:55 AM on November 4, 2008

Rural Chester County PA: We had the bubble-in ballots that were then fed into a machine. I have a receipt, although it doesn't indicate my choices as it was just a tear-off stub from the ballot.
posted by shiu mai baby at 6:55 AM on November 4, 2008

You know, heatherann is right. This really is a positive thread full of not only hope and optimism, but excitement at voting. For me it feels like finally, a future. I didn't feel this excited the first time I voted 26 years ago. The president of my childhood was a crook, and I was full of cynicism. It's taken this long, and this one man to cure me of it. Once the election is over though, the hard work for him begins. Do I think he can do it?

Yes I can!
posted by Eekacat at 6:55 AM on November 4, 2008

Thank God that once Obama is in office, we won't have to worry about putting gas in our cars or paying our mortgages anymore!
posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 6:56 AM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

"And Joe Lieberman. We get to throw him under the bus right?"

In all seriousness, it depends on how many Dem pick-ups we see in the Senate. I don't think the Dems will end up with a fillibuster-proof 60, so I expect McCain's best friend gets to keep his chairmanship.

So honestly, please just vote. The down-ticket races really do matter. As Kos has said, we don't just need a win, we need to break their spirit. It ain't over yet.
posted by bardic at 6:57 AM on November 4, 2008

Around here in MA, we have optical scan ballots. Fill out the bubbles, put it in the machine, and it just feeds in.

My ballot was relatively unexciting except for the propositions. Voted Obama (sure to win MA), Kerry (even surer to win), 4 local elections of Democratic Party folks who all look good and ran unopposed. Prop 1 was to remove income tax in MA (no!), Prop 2 was to decriminalize marijuana use (yes!) and Prop 3 was to ban dog racing (another yes). Which is not to say that I'd have skipped voting if not for the propositions, but the elections themselves were kinda-sorta in the bag here.
posted by explosion at 6:57 AM on November 4, 2008

Wow, massive turnout in MA is interesting.

Yeah, I was amazed, too... and it's not really looking like there's that much going on with local elections, either. The only two contested positions on the ballot out here are Barney Frank and John Kerry (who, um, I think might pull it out in a squeaker), so I was shocked at the line that snaked halfway around the block. It might be for some of the ballot initiatives (MA has propositions to eliminate the state income tax and decriminalize marijuana, which are brokering some interest), but this looks for all the world like a mass of people who want to get out and vote in the bluest part of one of the bluest states in the country.

If it looks anything like this in Florida and Ohio, then tonight's drinking will be much less despondent than election day 2004's.
posted by Mayor West at 6:58 AM on November 4, 2008

And I guess that makes me sound like a Markos Moulitsas cultist, but ya know what, he's been right about a lot of things since 9/11. Not everything, but a lot of things. It's a shame our thirst for "fair and balanced" means he gets branded as the librul version of freepers. Believe me, he's a hell of a lot smarter and talented than that.
posted by bardic at 7:00 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

The line was around the fucking block in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Mild, brooklyney chaos inside, but everyone chugged through it. Smiles, thank yous to the poll workers. It's heady stuff, I really hope it amounts to something. If you're in New York and you haven't voted yet (and you are voting Obama) please consider voting on the working families line. Kerchunk! Sound of Democracy, my brothers and sisters.
posted by Divine_Wino at 7:03 AM on November 4, 2008

Chicago too, Mayor West. The original one-party town, and yet turn out looks to be massive; they're predicting 80% in a town where mayoral elections have been known to pull under 30. We love our home town heroes.
posted by nax at 7:03 AM on November 4, 2008

Nothing's been decided yet. The Republicans always close strongly with their famed and well-established 72-hour GOTV operations. Voters may side with Obama by a large margin, but it's still up to Obama's supporters to get them out and turn potential voters into actual votes. Today's GOTV matters. Don't let up. And STFIL.

That said, to lend some context to what Obama has accomplished over the last two years of campaigning: according to the reputable polling outfit SurveyUSA, this is where Obama had started from as a pie-in-the-sky longshot. Compare: current electoral polling (all polls). The current electoral map certainly looks very favorable for Obama; however, even at his worst moment in the polls (down by 2% nationally during the height of McCain/Palin's RNC bump six weeks ago) Election-Projection.net had still given Obama a 45% chance to win, and fivethirtyeight.com had him at 40%. This was due to Obama's longtime "firewall" strategy of all Kerry states + Iowa + New Mexico + Colorado that, if all held, would push him over the 270EV threshold. (Conspicuously missing from that list: Ohio and Florida, showing that the Obama camp has learned well the lessons of the previous two elections.) With polls showing Obama comfortably ahead in every single one of those states by more than 7% (even in Pennsylvania despite McCain's last-ditch full-out blitz there), it's hard to see how Obama loses. Election-Projection has Obama at a 99.6% chance to win and 538 currently shows him at 98.1%, putting a McCain victory well outside polling's margin of error. A McCain win tonight would represent a polling failure of unprecedented scale, far beyond Dewey-Truman in 1948.

Today's election news coverage will doubtlessly feature snippets of exit polls, breathless reports of voting irregularities, and of course images of huge lines due to turnout (if the turnout surpasses Kennedy-Nixon, then the final margins will look even better for Obama). But with the real drama starting when polls start to close, these are the three states that I think will be most interesting to watch tonight, all of them among the first waves of poll closing times:

1) Virginia (7pm ET): Virginia is one of two states that can deliver a first-round knockout for Obama, with the other being Florida. Florida of course is the perennial swing state that will continue to be contested in 2012 and beyond regardless of who wins it this year, and Obama clinching the election via Florida will be IMO as anticlimatic as winning by coin toss (no disrespect to the Obama staff and volunteers working feverishly to win it this time around). But Virginia will much more interesting to watch, and more gratifying if it's what clinches it for Obama; Pollster.com has dubbed Virginia the "microcosm of this campaign" since it weaves together so many of threads of this election. For starters, Virginia was a reliably red state that hasn't voted blue since the year Sarah Palin was born, and it went to Bush by 8.2% in 2004, but Obama is currently leading in polls by 5.4%. To put this 13.6% swing into perspective: a swing like that would've comfortably won California for Bush by 3.8% in 2004. The first and foremost reason for this change is simple demographics, with northern Virginia (NoVA) growing explosively fueled by the spreading DC suburbs, and John King (CNN) and Chuck Todd (MSNBC) will undoubtedly be zooming around in Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William counties on their Magic Maps™ tonight. (But also pay attention to suburban/rural returns -- large cities in Virginia are in their own counties and Obama has made a huge effort to push outside of those Democratic strongholds as well, so the returns in the non-city Virginia counties will be a good, untainted indicator of how well Obama in playing in many of the less densely-populated stretches of America: "real Virginia" vs NoVA, "pro-American" parts of the country vs. everyone else, and so on.) The addition of so many white, well-educated suburban liberals to the state has changed the game for Democrats in Virginia in recent years. As Gov. Tim Kaine tells it:

Since Mark Warner’s election as Governor in 2001 Virginia has evolved from a solid red state to a “purple” state where Democrats who bring the right message to the voters have a great chance of getting elected. In 2005 I won the race to succeed Warner in the Governor’s mansion, in 2006 we elected Jim Webb to the United States Senate and in 2007 Democrats took control of the state Senate and made considerable gains in the state House.

The Obama camp has astutely read the shifting demographics and made Virginia one of their highest priorities, throwing the entire kitchen sink at it in terms of money, top-tier staff, phone-bank targeting, candidate and surrogate visits, voter registration, and of course grass-roots organizing of volunteers. We're talking 49 campaign offices, 23 state party offices coordinated with the campaign, and 40 additional GOTV-only offices, all for a state with "only" 13EV. That's why many political observers were surprised when -- despite all the Clinton talk during the primaries eons ago about "who can win the big states" and how the other states didn't really matter to Democrats -- the Obama camp had instead heavily saturated places like Virginia (and Colorado, with its similar demographic shift) and went straight into general campaign mode after the primaries in those states without ever letting up on the pressure. Thus, should Virginia break its 44-year Republican streak to become the early decisive win for Obama tonight, then it would be a fitting vindication of the clarity in the Obama camp's foresight, the soundness of their strategy, and the competence of its execution. This is a state that Obama deserves to win. And while there won't be enough EVs on the board for the networks to officially call it for Obama until 9PM ET (New York, 31EV) -- or if the race is tighter, as late as 11PM ET (California, 55EV) -- if and when Viriginia (or Florida) gets colored blue on the map, it's time to pop open the bubbly since the rest will become a virtual formality.

2) Indiana (6PM and 7PM ET): The mostly rural eastern portion of Indiana closes at 6PM, but the all-important Chicago suburbs in Lake County won't close until 7PM. Normally this distinction is fairly irrelevant: like Virginia, Indiana hasn't gone blue since LBJ's landslide in 1964, and since then the state has always been a Republican blob in the otherwise empty center of the map early evening on most election nights. The last time Indiana wasn't immediately called for the Republicans as soon as polls closed was back in 1992, and even then Clinton still lost there by 6.1%. Most recently, Bush won Indiana by a whopping 20.7% in 2004. But there's not a chance that Indiana will be called as soon as the polls close this time around because incredibly, Barack Obama is extremely competitive in Indiana this year. Realistically speaking, unlike Virginia (and Colorado) there's been no sizable demographic shift and Obama is starting 20.1% down instead of 8.4% down, which means Obama will very probably fall short of winning Indiana. But because Indiana contains so many of the demographic slices that have proved problematic for Obama, it's a great state to watch as a weathervane for gauging the political winds this year. If Indiana gets called for McCain fairly early on (before Lake County has fully reported), then it's likely that returns in all states have been surprisingly favorable for McCain (i.e. the early battlegrounds like Virginia and Florida will remain too close to call) and we're in for a long night of waiting for returns in western states like New Mexico (which always returns sloooowly) and Colorado. However, the longer that Indiana itself remains too close to call, then the worse that things start to look for McCain: if the Indiana-shaped hole in the middle of the map remains not-red while other states are falling on one side or the other like dominoes, then Indiana becomes the creeping sign of doom ticking the minutes away. If current polling trends hold, Indiana may even wind up being impotently called for McCain long after Obama has already been declared the winner. And should Indiana unexpectedly be called for Obama at any point during the night, then we're looking at an Official Landslide, do not pass go, do not stop by conservative websites to gawk at the rending of garments. Or maybe just a little.

The reason that Indiana went from being +20.7% Republican in 2004 to becoming competitive four short years later? One word: organizing. (Say it with a Giuliani/Palin RNC sneer.) As Al Giordano explains: Illinois Volunteers Have Created "the Biggest Electoral College State." What he sees is the Obama camp trying to forge a new Great Lakes power center for the Democratic party, in addition to the Pacific Coast and North Atlantic ones. And while the whole article is worth a read, here's his money quote on how Obama has made Indiana competitive this year:

Chicago may just be the best city in the country to base your presidential campaign - in terms of the Electoral College - if you count with a cadre of well-trained organizers and volunteers ready to travel a short ways to register voters, knock on doors and help get out the vote in the neighboring swing states.

3) North Carolina (7:30PM ET): Virginia is a potential Obama election-clincher and Indiana might be the quintessential "Landslide Barometer" this time around, but North Carolina will measure just how deep of a stake an Obama victory could drive into the Republican long-term electoral map. It's one thing for Democrats to win a solidly Southern state with a popular, centrist white Southern governor, but to do so with an unknown, moderate-liberal Black Northerner with a Muslim-sounding name would be... extraordinary. The reason to follow North Carolina closely tonight is because it represents the very front lines of the new electoral culture war. If there really is to be an "Obama Revolution" akin to the "Reagan Revolution", then North Carolina, with its somewhat favorable demographics, is a natural starting place to crack the South, and whether Obama wins the currently razor-thin race in North Carolina -- and if so, by how much -- will be a harbinger of the electoral landscape to come. If North Carolina gets called for McCain -- especially if earlier than expected -- then the Obama surge could be just a blip on the radar, like Carter in 1976. Since the Democrats are coming off of two extremely large gains in 2006 and now 2008, it will be hard for them to simply hold ground in the crucial 2010 redistricting elections. But: should Obama wins North Carolina resoundingly, then all the states that Obama have narrowed considerably with his sweeping strategy -- states like Montana, North Dakota, Georgia, and even McCain's own Arizona will be truly in play in 2012, and perhaps beyond. And if Obama manages to actually govern well, then North Carolina's margins will be a clue to what coattails he'll have in previously Republican states in the redistricting elections of 2010 that will help tip the balance of power for the next decade.

As for the Republicans? If this year's election becomes a disaster for them, North Carolina is one of the signals of whether this is merely a McCain disaster or a truly party-wide disaster. Already, a crushing defeat in this year's Congressional races would leave Republicans facing the possibility that almost 1/2 of their House seats will come entirely from the South, and almost 3/4 from the South and Midwest combined. The Republicans are facing the possibility of becoming consigned into a quasi-regional party, whether for a single election cycle or a whole decade. Losing their hold of North Carolina -- or worse, Georgia -- would trend dangerously close to catastrophe. Tea leaf readers on the Republican side will undoubtedly be watching North Carolina closely, especially the downticket races and the Georgia Senate race.

But here I must confess to another reason I'll be rooting for North Carolina tonight. Some of you know North Carolina as konolia's home state. I'm thinking of the single-issue voters that konolia has so vocally represented here on MetaFilter. I'm thinking of the MeFites and many, many more non-MeFites working for Obama in that state, and elsewhere, many of them far from where they live. I'm thinking of Obama the man, and how regardless of him what Obama the idea has already caused Americans, surprisingly yes, Americans to do. I'm thinking where of the front lines are in this election, of Obama supporters starting to reclaim Jesusland for Americans, block by block. I'm thinking of the hope for those in red states to see a state like North Carolina turn blue. I'm thinking of tinfoil hatters who no longer recognize what "their" America is changing into. I'm thinking of young people and immigrants recognizing their America for the first time, and other Americans recognizing America for what it is and what it can be again. I'm thinking about how this election is different from but exactly the same as all the other elections. And I'm thinking of North Carolina. I'm thinking of this tide reaching konolia's America, konolia's state, konolia's county, and konolia's own front porch. I'm thinking of the nice ladies at konolia's church, and I'm thinking of all of them talking about the aftermath of this election, how we so misguidedly elected a socialist baby-killing terror-loving Muslim as President and terrible it all is. And I'm thinking about one of them, yes, maybe just one of them, siding up slowly next to konolia afterward and whisper to her, quietly, hopefully, just a little bit conspiratorially: yes, we can.

It's possible. Go vote.
posted by DaShiv at 7:06 AM on November 4, 2008 [144 favorites]

80 and 90% turnouts? That's... that's fucking awesome!
posted by Happy Dave at 7:07 AM on November 4, 2008

Today was the first day I ever voted in person. While I waited in line outside I saw this woman come out of the building smiling and laughing. Nearly everything is making me misty-eyed today.

Tried to remember to thank everyone I encountered at my polling place. Those guys rock!

I'm registered Green(-Rainbow), and I hate the two-party system, but I had to vote for Obama. Not because I live in a red state or anything. I just want the popular vote to make it absolutely clear that Barack Obama is who Americans want.

(Last night on the nightly news Brian Williams mentioned the crazy ballot question we have in Massachusetts to remove the income tax. I was so embarrassed.)
posted by giraffe at 7:07 AM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Hey guys, they just let me vote for Obama....IN OHIO!

Heh, that's what you think.

So what format did everyone vote in?

Mine (DC, and I shunned the broken electronic voting machines) was similar to a scantron, but instead of filling in a circle, I had to connect a line; like, they showed "< ----" and I had to complete the arrow. Neato.
posted by inigo2 at 7:08 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

I'm back, and I have the sticker to prove it. I feel good. Damn good.
posted by Faint of Butt at 7:09 AM on November 4, 2008

I just voted. Not that it really matters, being in a solid red state and using a Diebold machine, but I just had to turn out to let the Republican scum that disenfranchised me in 2000 know that they can't shatter my basic faith in democracy.
posted by bunnytricks at 7:09 AM on November 4, 2008

I just voted, in one of the few precincts in Amarillo TX that will go Democrat, and I'm furious at the whole system. For those of you outside the USA or anyone who lives in an area with possibly a bit more sanity, let me outline the process.

1) I registered to vote long before the election and eventually got a bit of cardboard in the mail. This is the sacred cardboard and if you lose it you will make both yourself and everyone else miserable if you try to vote. Note, if you move between the time you get the sacred bit of cardboard and election day you will also be making everyone's life miserable.

2) I showed up at the polling place about 15 minutes early. There were maybe fifteen or twenty people in front of me.

3) The polls open and we stand in line for around 30 minutes before we get to vote. Why? Well, that's the part that infuriated me.

4) Before you can vote an elderly woman with poor eyesight and no sense of urgency at all takes your bit of sacred cardboard and tries to find your name in a giant fracking three ring binder filled with computer printout. I'm sure she was doing her best, but it took her a bit more than a minute to find each person. Once she finds your name she asks if you still live at the address listed in the binder (and if you don't, things *REALLY* slow down). Once you say yes, she finds the ruler she lost, picks up a blue highlighter, and uses it and the ruler to draw a line through the barcode next to your name.

5) She then hands your bit of sacred cardboard to another elderly woman with bad eyesight who copies your name, in beautiful and quite slow handwriting, onto a sheet of sacred yellow paper and asks you to sign beside it.

6) The entire process once you got to the front of the line took between 1:30 and 2:00, assuming everything was in perfect order. If it wasn't the whole line stops and waits for the elderly women to figure out how to deal with people who have either moved, or lost their bit of sacred cardboard.

7) Finally, you get to a voting machine, and a third elderly woman (I think chosen because she had bad knees and therefore was the slowest candidate available) will (slowly) walk you to one of five available voting machines, insert a physical token to activate it, let you choose your language, and start trying to read you the instructions clearly printed on the screen.

8) There was no parallel processing, there was only one sacred three ring binder, so the entire operation was bottlenecked by the elderly women with bad sight and excellent (but very slow) handwriting.

9) The fact that there were only five voting machines was another fact that looks like an obvious attempt to slow things to a crawl (there were ten for the primaries, and the process was much shorter, once you got to the front of the line you were able to get to a voting machine in about thirty seconds). But the bottleneck of the sacred three ring binder was so effective that out of five voting machines typically only three were in use at any given moment. Let me emphasize that again: the slowdown was not waiting for a voting machine to be free, but waiting for the bottleneck of the sacred three ring binder to let you pass.

There were, as I mentioned, about fifteen or twenty people ahead of us in the line. The polls opened at 7am, and we were not out until 7:30. By the time I voted there were at least fifty people in line behind me, which means that (assuming the 1:30 to 2:00 bottleneck stayed constant) the last person in line when I left would be getting to vote around 9 or 9:30. I cannot imagine what its going to be like as the day progresses, and I can't help but think that the entire thing was deliberate.

As Rachel Maddow points out [1], long lines to vote are a silent poll tax, a means of keeping people from voting because it not only risks their jobs, but even assuming they won't be fired for not showing up to work on time, it still costs them hours of pay.

I'm sure the poll volunteers were doing the best they could, and despite my frustration with how incredibly slowly they did everything, the problem was not them, but the insane system they were forced to work in. I cannot help but think that the entire process is deliberately designed to produce long lines and discourage everyone who is not retired or wealthy from voting.

I think the first thing President Obama (please, please, let it be President Obama) needs to look at, right after he cancels every executive order Bush issued, is a total revamp of the voting system. Election day should be a national holiday (which won't fix too much, since most employers mandate that their hourly employees work on holidays too), and the entire system needs to be updated.

[1] And thanks Pandagon for linking to that video.
posted by sotonohito at 7:13 AM on November 4, 2008 [13 favorites]

DaShiv, you are seriously one of the very best things about MeFi. Thank you.
posted by shiu mai baby at 7:14 AM on November 4, 2008

Opti-scan ballots in Worcester, MA as well. Check in, get your ballot, fill the bubbles, check out, feed ballot into machine. Easy as pie.

Tons of Obama signs and supporters everywhere; outside of polling places, at busy intersections nowhere near polling places, and two ladies just standing on the side of the street with a big sign. McCain supporters? One guy with a small yard sign in his hand, standing on the side of Rt. 9 while traffic whizzes by at 40+ mph.

Sure, this is Massachusetts we're talking about. But I was here in '04 too, and even with a native son running for President there was nowhere near this level of excitement. Obama is the real deal, and words can't describe how exciting it is and how hopeful it feels.
posted by xbonesgt at 7:15 AM on November 4, 2008

The Republicans always close strongly with their famed and well-established 72-hour GOTV operations.

Not that I want to discourage any Obama voters (quite the opposite), but I don't think the 72 hour thing has been in operation this year. There are stories and pictures all over the internets about closed McCain offices, halted ground games, etc.

That said, let me re-iterate: Vote anyway. Just in case. And to increase the margin. And to help the down-ticket races and get us to a supermajority. And to defeat Prop 8 and similarly stupid ballot measures.
posted by DU at 7:16 AM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Hey guys and gals,

I wish I could hang out with you all tonight as the election results come in and my supply of Rolaids steadily depletes, but I'm going to an election vigil party that promises to go on well into the night. So I wanted to thank you all now, from the bottom of my heart, for your exchanges, your MeMails, your posts, your links, your information, your insights, your arguments, your celebration and most of all for your passion. This is one of the reasons why I wanted to be a part of this community; this here is an intelligent, articulate and often mind-blowing community that doesn't take itself too seriously and never ceases to surprise me. Following the campaign with you all has been a real pleasure, as I'm sure following the new presidency will be.

I am of course confident of an Obama victory for many statistical reasons, Diebold be damned. Should he lose, however, find solace in knowing that the Republican Party of old is no more - a razor-thin victory will be not be enough to convince the Goldwater conservatives that it's prudent to stay in bed with the Talibaptists. The Obama campaign has had this stealth effect of really putting the Republican Party on the defensive and brought out the worst in them. This was healthy - it flushed out the crazies. If anything, the Talibaptists have been seen by mainstream conservatives as holding "moderates" like McCain back, and Palin will still be seen as having denied McCain a more decisive victory. They will not want another white-knuckle ride four years down the road, and this campaign has been embarrassingly ugly for them. The blueblood powers that be in the party are going to ostracize these idiots, and shift the Republican Party back from the brink of theocratical insanity - thanks to Barack Obama.

Should Barack Obama win, however, and I believe he will, I think the most important gain for America won't be just the change to multilateralism, to parity instead of corporate feudalism, to more energy alternatives, to more support for the middle and lower classes, or even an end to the war in Iraq. The greatest achievement of an Obama presidency - hell, even of the campaign itself - has been and will be the resurrection of democracy; that you can start with an idea, talk to others, get out and knock on doors, encouraging others to do the same, and build it into a populist movement that has a direct and massive impact on the government. Barack Obama has proven that democracy is not dead in the United States of America. I cannot think of a greater gift any world leader can provide the people than proof-positive that a nation is built from the bottom up.

Anyway, sorry to Biden out on you like this. I'm just kind of emotional today, and I wanted to give you all my appreciation for doing what you do. Thanks.
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 7:17 AM on November 4, 2008 [23 favorites]

Stealing Drudge's flashy lights is what all the cool blogs are doing today.
posted by Tehanu at 7:19 AM on November 4, 2008

What it looks like to vote in NYC [via stynxno]. You have to move a huge red lever on the bottom of the machine to the right, then you move those little black ticks, then the huge red lever goes back to the left and you've voted. We're the only state in the union that uses these machines and I don't know why everyone else doesn't. They work, they're a known quantity and they're familiar because we've used them forever.
posted by Skorgu at 7:21 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

I voted, no line here in Rocheport. Scantron style. Now I'm going into town to work extra on my day off so that other people can vote...See you later tonight!
posted by schyler523 at 7:21 AM on November 4, 2008

About ten minutes of waiting, followed by ten minutes of SWEET DEMOCRACY for me. The next polling location down the street (not too far away here in Chicago), near where the bus stop I use to get to work every morning, had a line out the door and onto the sidewalk.

Recommended listening?
posted by sparkletone at 7:22 AM on November 4, 2008

We're the only state in the union that uses these machines and I don't know why everyone else doesn't

They don't like the sound of democracy in action. Ka-thunk!
posted by uncleozzy at 7:22 AM on November 4, 2008

STFIL

Are people allowed to start sing alongs while in line to vote? Because a huge line of Americans belting out their national anthem or some tasteful showtunes to pass the time before doing their patriotic duty would make my chilly Canadian heart melt, just a little bit.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 7:23 AM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

All I'm hoping for now is that I can get some sleep tonight.
posted by effwerd at 7:25 AM on November 4, 2008

I haven't slept in over 24 hours. Prediction, coffee and alcohol sales skyrocket!
posted by empyrean at 7:25 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Let's start with "Oh Canada!"
posted by nax at 7:26 AM on November 4, 2008

As I stood inside Trinity Lutheran gymnasium waiting to vote this morning, I looked up at the backboard hanging from the ceiling and thought about Obama shooting hoops tonight as he waits for the results to come in. When I voted it felt like a slam dunk.
posted by Sailormom at 7:26 AM on November 4, 2008 [4 favorites]

sonohito, if you're young and have good eyesight, perhaps you can volunteer to work at a polling place next election. See also.
posted by snofoam at 7:27 AM on November 4, 2008 [4 favorites]

Hey xbonesgt, give my love to the Kenmore Diner.
posted by vrakatar at 7:30 AM on November 4, 2008

Fuck Yeah.
posted by chunking express at 7:31 AM on November 4, 2008

The best part is this means that redneck motherfucker Saxby Chambliss might go down.
posted by GalaxieFiveHundred at 9:34 AM

No shit. It has always pissed me off how he got elected by questioning the patriotism of triple-amputee Vietnam veteran Max Cleland.

Interesting, while reading about Cleland, I found out Saxby Chambliss' ad equating Cleland with Bin Laden was denounced at the time by none other than the Senator from Arizona! I guess that was the McCain that still had a shred of decency.
posted by marxchivist at 7:32 AM on November 4, 2008

Also, I posted this in the Baldwin thread, but I like it, so I'm posting it here too.

Then they all gathered around Sonny and Sonny played. Every now and again one of them seemed to say, amen. Sonny's fingers filled the air with life, his life. But that life contained so many others. And Sonny went all the way back, he really began with the spare, flat statement of the opening phrase of the song. Then he began to make it his. It was very beautiful because it wasn't hurried and it was no longer a lament. I seemed to hear with what burning he had made it his, and what burning we had yet to make it ours, how we could cease lamenting. Freedom lurked around us and I understood, at last, that he could help us to be free if we would listen, that he would never be free until we did. Yet, there was no battle in his face now, I heard what he had gone through, and would continue to go through until he came to rest in earth. He had made it his: that long line, of which we knew only Mama and Daddy. And he was giving it back, as everything must be given back, so that, passing through death, it can live forever. I saw my mother's face again, and felt, for the first time, how the stones of the road she had walked on must have bruised her feet. I saw the moonlit road where my father's brother died. And it brought something else back to me, and carried me past it, I saw my little girl again and felt Isabel's tears again, and I felt my own tears begin to rise. And I was yet aware that this was only a moment, that the world waited outside, as hungry as a tiger, and that trouble stretched above us, longer than the sky." -- James Baldwin, Sonny's Blues

posted by chunking express at 7:35 AM on November 4, 2008

So I waited in line with my mp3 player loaded up with the happiest, bounciest music possible and then I participated the hell out of our democracy.

If anyone sees a pasty guy in a green sweater vest with Ira Glass frames skipping down Broadway and singing Leslie Gore tunes ...that's me.

Say hi.
posted by The Whelk at 7:36 AM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

I voted in Western Mass at what I consider a peak time (8:30 a.m.) and though there were many people moving around, there was no wait at all. You walk in, tell an elderly person your address, they find it in a binder, they ask you your name, you tell them, they put a check mark next to it, and another elderly person hands you a paper ballot. It's the kind where you complete the arrow with a black pen, and there are at least 20 little booths where you can go to fill it out. To hand in the ballot, you go through the same checking off process with a second pair of elderly people, and you put your own ballot into the machine. That's it, no I.D. needed, no special piece of cardboard, nada. Though it kind of scares me how easy it is, I also love it. True democracy.
posted by chowflap at 7:38 AM on November 4, 2008

"I will pay more taxes under the Obama administration, and like
Warren Buffet and Adam Smith, I think that is not unreasonable. In
return I get a country that: invests more in basic science research
(which will grow the economy faster), understands the need for a
transformative switch to a new energy economy (which gains jobs,
decreases oil usage and alleviates climate problems), and regains
respect on the world stage (bettering all of us in the USA, and all of
us on earth). I call that a bargain.
-- Peter Norvig, Ph.D., Director of Research, Google, Palo Alto, CA "

http://www.obamaforeconomy.com/

All this excitement almost makes me regret voting early.

Oh well, going to canvass / transport voters. Have a great day, everyone!!
posted by ZakDaddy at 7:39 AM on November 4, 2008 [9 favorites]

Some reasons to ignore exit polls.

I will be ignoring them because cell reception for AT&T is awful in Grant Park (or at least it was during Lollapalooza), and I expect to be more or less off the grid once I leave for the LOLbama rally tonight.
posted by sparkletone at 7:41 AM on November 4, 2008

4 pictures from PS 122 in Queens.
posted by Stynxno at 7:44 AM on November 4, 2008

...tell an elderly person your address...

I was thinking this morning how much of an institution this is, to the point where it catches my eye if a poll volunteer is walking faster than 0.5 mph. I love those little old ladies. (And men--I remember in the primary I was still registered as "undeclared" but you have to take a temporary party to vote. You can then switch back to UND. The guy asked me if I wanted to switch back and I politely but forcefully said "No." He gave me a huge smile and waved me through.)
posted by DU at 7:44 AM on November 4, 2008

DaShiv, you are seriously one of the very best things about MeFi. Thank you.

On top of which, should the future of humanity be decided in an 'Ender's Game' style proxy war, DaShiv is a real sharpshooter!

The global interest in this election is perhaps unprecedented. People who I did not think had any interest in politics are professing their hope that Obama gets in.

I can only add that the hope should not be allowed to die, or be left un-nourished, as happened in the UK with New Labour. Keep hope alive! I know a song about that.
posted by asok at 7:44 AM on November 4, 2008

amuseDetachment writes "Nothing would make me happier than if this thread had no activity tomorrow, because we'll all be going door-to-door or calling for GOTV as volunteers for Obama."

Don't worry, lots of foreigners in these parts to keep threads from dying.
posted by Mitheral at 7:45 AM on November 4, 2008

The comment boards at newspapers and other blogs are going to be especially vile today - all of the republitrolls are at home ranting on the internet while the dems are waiting in line to vote!
posted by davey_darling at 7:48 AM on November 4, 2008

I just got back from my polling place. Like others I have never seen lines like I saw today. People were abuzz. Only downside -- the OCR machine in my line was broken, so they collected our ballots for entry later.

BTW -- my California friends, please vote "No" on Prop 8; friends in Florida, please vote "No" on Prop 2.
posted by ericb at 7:49 AM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

I voted this morning after waiting for 45 minutes in line. This was in suburban Philly. I've voted here three times in the past, and never seen a line. I've been grinning ever since.
posted by Eddie Mars at 7:50 AM on November 4, 2008

I have voted in every election since I was eligible, in 1988. I voted absentee ballot for the two elections that happened when I was in college, but ever since, I've voted in person, in two locations in manhattan and one in Brooklyn. I also accompanied my parents to polling places in Connecticut when I was a child.

I have never, at ANY of those locations, in ANY of those elections, seen a voter turnout like the one I just saw today. At one point I was in line behind a young woman who was there accompanying her grandmother, and we all got into a conversation and the grandmother said that she also hadn't seen anything like this "and I've been voting at this station for fifty years!"

And remarkably -- I didn't see a single instance of impatience, conflict, or bad spirits -- the closest I got was when one woman who'd been in line for the wrong voter district was caught and directed to another line, and she grumbled a bit. The poll workers were keeping remarkable order, even though -- as one woman told me -- they'd been there since 3 am.

There did seem to be a higher-than-average concentration of people in my district who needed the provisional ballots, but there are two colleges on my street and I chalked a lot of that up to them being college students who'd registered during the last mad rush and they'd fallen through the cracks.

I was in line for an hour, twice the wait I've usually had. When I got there at 7:45 am the line was out the door of the building and down the street. When I came out, they'd opened up a second, back entrance, and both lines were even longer.

Even setting aside the actual outcome, this election is historic just for the sheer turnout.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:51 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

This seems a better place than the Green to post this..

What's the official status of the 'winner' of tonight's election till inauguration? Till Congress counts the electoral college ballots on Jan 9, I assume there is no "winner" as such, and thus no official President-elect. Right? And if there is, who declares that?
posted by Gyan at 7:51 AM on November 4, 2008

Is the siren thing a convention from some other web site? What does it mean?
posted by grouse at 7:51 AM on November 4, 2008

Please don't forget this energy the next time you have the opportunity to vote.

Even if it's just some shitty local election.

We've all agreed, at tremendous cost in life and blood, to let the people as a whole decide what's best for the people as a whole. And when we vote, it's the only time each of us, no matter how busy or distracted otherwise, can put a hand on the tiller that steers the nation and give it a little nudge.

Don't ever pass up your chance to make that nudge.

Voting.
It works, bitches.
posted by seanmpuckett at 7:51 AM on November 4, 2008 [4 favorites]

As Rachel Maddow points out [1], long lines to vote are a silent poll tax, a means of keeping people from voting because it not only risks their jobs, but even assuming they won't be fired for not showing up to work on time, it still costs them hours of pay.

So, you'll be signing up to volunteer then, next time?

The reason the old ladies are so old is because it's retirees who can take the time to work the polls. I encourage you to take the next Election Day off and spend your time making the process better.

There's a reason several zillion people chose early voting: to avoid Election Day lines. I'm sorry that your voting experience wasn't perfect... but it's not like there weren't options. I hope you'll be working in the future to help improve the system (because it will be you, not President Obama, who can readily effect change in your hometown).

Anyway.

Once I realized that Obama had the spare cash to be advertising in video games, and flying planes over college football games, and running half-hour primetime ads, I knew he was going to win this thing.

I voted early, so I don't have a story to tell today -- other than to tell my fellow Americans that we're being given a great chance here, to right eight years of wrongs. Pastabagel is right -- the hardest work is yet to come. I'm excited, but I'm ready to celebrate, and then get back on track tomorrow. We have to stay the course.
posted by pineapple at 7:51 AM on November 4, 2008 [6 favorites]

Nothing would make me happier than if this thread had no activity tomorrow, because we'll all be going door-to-door or calling for GOTV as volunteers for Obama still stoned, drunk and hungover from the partying!
posted by ericb at 7:54 AM on November 4, 2008

How Much is Your Vote Worth?
posted by lunit at 7:54 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

On my bike ride in this morning in the rain and old lady (70? 75?) walking down the street in the opposite direction, all bundled up in her jacket, yelled at me: YOU BETTER VOTE TODAY! That old lady had some pipes. Nearly fell off my bike.

I voted absentee. Sort of wish I had been able to do it in person, but still. I feel giddy.
posted by The Loch Ness Monster at 7:54 AM on November 4, 2008 [11 favorites]

I voted; I'm wearing my little sticker. Took 15 minutes or thereabouts and that was that; I carefully filled in a little oval for Obama and slid the ballot into the scanner and voila, I was number 128 to vote that morning in West Asheville where I am pretty confident that the chick with the dreads and the skinny guy with glasses and my old college friend were voting the same way as me. I'm excited - I was excited at 7:15 in the morning walking my dogs and talking with other friendly early morning dog walkers about how excited we all are and how this is it, this is the first candidate we've ever cared about (even at my advanced age, which is to say exactly the same as Michelle Obama) and here we are, this is it, this is the day and if I could type with my fingers crossed I would. But I honestly think it's going to be okay this time and unlike 2004, I will not be sitting at the bar tonight watching all my hopes and dreams run slowly down the drain. I'm daring to think that maybe we can even bring North Carolina in for Obama.
posted by mygothlaundry at 7:55 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

I noticed a striking amount of diversity in the ages (and race and ethnicity) of our poll workers this morning, compared with years past. Maybe next year I'll have enough leave saved up to join them.
posted by JoanArkham at 7:56 AM on November 4, 2008

Gyan: The Presidential Transition Act of 1963 § 3(c) empowers the Administrator of General Services (the head of the GSA) to make the call:

The terms `President-elect' and `Vice-President-elect' as used in this Act shall mean such persons as are the apparent successful candidates for the office of President and Vice President, respectively, as ascertained by the Administrator following the general elections held to determine the electors of President and Vice President in accordance with title 3, United States Code, sections 1 and 2.

posted by grouse at 7:56 AM on November 4, 2008

I actually did vote for a black Muslim today. Keith Ellison, who actually did get sworn in on a Koran. Thomas Jefferson's Koran.

If there was a Marxist on the ballot, I might have voted for him too.
posted by Astro Zombie at 7:58 AM on November 4, 2008 [17 favorites]

Gyan that's exactly what a President-elect is - someone who has been elected but not yet taken office.
posted by CunningLinguist at 7:59 AM on November 4, 2008

I just got back from voting. All told, between the walk to the station, the wait, and the process, it took me about 30 minutes.

I've never been so proud to be an American as I am right now. After the last 8 years I never thought I would be again, but voting for Barack Obama has restored my confidence. Now I just have to get through this one more blasted day of fidgeting, hoping, despairing, and worrying...in any case, we'll hopefully know within 12 hours who the next President of the United States will be.
posted by baphomet at 7:59 AM on November 4, 2008

I was the first to vote in my precinct in a traditionally Republican area of Louisville, Kentucky. There were 200 people in line by 6:15 am. My wife went at 10:00 am and when the election official saw her party affiliation, he rolled his eyes and sighed a heavy "ugh."
posted by mrmojoflying at 8:00 AM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

he rolled his eyes and sighed a heavy "ugh."

I hope you reported that to your election board.
posted by uncleozzy at 8:02 AM on November 4, 2008 [23 favorites]

Is the siren thing a convention from some other web site? What does it mean?

Grouse, it's what that excrecable Matt Drudge fellow puts on his horrid little website when he wants to push his latest pile of shite to credulous news networks who have never gotten over his role in the absurdity that was the Lewinsky affair. If nothing else, at least this election has completely neutered the reach and power of that odious little man.
posted by Happy Dave at 8:03 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

The ladies at my polling place were freaked out because when they got there at 6 o'clock there were people standing outside who'd been waiting for an hour. They said the line hadn't stopped since they opened.

This is a fairly small precinct in a city in North Carolina. I'm used to zipping in and zipping out as one of two or three voters. Today I had to wait in a thirty person line.

It was amazing.
posted by winna at 8:04 AM on November 4, 2008

I voted for the first time, and in Ohio where it matters!

There was no line when i got there, but a few people waiting when I left; then again, it was 10AM or so, so most people were probably at work.

I really, really hate this phrase, but I am actually proud to be an American today. Hopefully I'll still be proud tomorrow.
posted by mismatched at 8:05 AM on November 4, 2008

Hey ho, lets go! Hey ho, lets go! Hey ho, lets go! Hey ho, lets go!
They're forming in straight line
They're going through a tight wind
The kids are losing their minds - vote Barack!

They're voting in a red state
They're why our nation's so great
The polls are open till 8 - vote Barack!

Hey ho, lets go! Vote 'em to the top now
Change we want, now they know
All fired up and ready to go!
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 8:08 AM on November 4, 2008 [25 favorites]

I voted for The Tiger Woods Guy two weeks ago -- this being Florida - south Florida, no less - I wanted to give myself a lot of wiggle room in case there were problems at the polls. Thankfully, it all went off without a hitch. I've never been so proud to cast a vote in my life.

I'm fired up. I'm ready to go. America, we can win this thing. YES WE WILL!
posted by contessa at 8:09 AM on November 4, 2008

Are all the stickers the same? Do they all say "I Vote, I Count"? Could they possibly get more pretentious?
posted by symbollocks at 8:09 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

I arrived at my polling location, in the Indianapolis suburbs, around 6:30 this morning, half an hour after polls had opened. There were already about a hundred people in line ahead of me. It took nearly two hours to get through the line—there were only two electronic push-button machines at our site. By the time I left the line had shortened somewhat, but there were still around fifty people in line. (And this is after ~15% of registered voters in Indiana cast absentee/early ballots!)

Here's the drinking game-- a shot for every Obama percentage point over 50. A White Russian From My House if Obama takes Alaska. A Blue Moon beer for every red state turned blue.

If Indiana goes to Obama I shall have a beer from the Upland Brewing Company in Bloomington, one of the bluest spots in this traditionally red state.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 8:11 AM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Are all the stickers the same? Do they all say "I Vote, I Count"? Could they possibly get more pretentious?

Mine is embossed with gold foil and says, "I vote, I count (more than other people)."
posted by The Loch Ness Monster at 8:11 AM on November 4, 2008 [4 favorites]

symbollocks: my sticker just said "I voted." Last election, my sticker said "I made freedom count!"

What I wanted was a sticker that said, "I voted the living shit out of my ballot and I better get more than a lousy sticker to show for it."
posted by contessa at 8:11 AM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

I'll be watching early returns with my best friend who's in the hospital and an ex-marine who was one of the first soldiers into Iraq. They are both black guys. Knowing them we'll all probably be sitting there making race-war jokes, but I at least I can express to this space on the web how happy it has made me to see our cynicism melt away at select times over this campaign, and that for at least for a moment today we can feel like brothers. I guess my vicarious joy is probably cheapening to the real emotions they may be feeling, but nothing gets me choked up like watching the underdog finally succeed. Props.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 8:14 AM on November 4, 2008

I'm bemused that a lot of my friends here in England have changed their Facebook status to encourage people to vote for Obama. None of us are able to, while we probably have about ten American friends between us. I guess the vibe is too infectious, we're all as caught up in it as much as you guys are.
posted by marmaduke_yaverland at 8:14 AM on November 4, 2008

I'm thinking of the nice ladies at konolia's church, and I'm thinking of all of them talking about the aftermath of this election, how we so misguidedly elected a socialist baby-killing terror-loving Muslim as President and terrible it all is.

Please, do we have to bring up another user's name to make a point, when that user hasn't even shown up in this thread?

It happens to her a lot, and it's a low-blow. In this case, it does nothing but detract from an otherwise reasoned and interesting comment. If you want to make accusations about "those people" you can easily do it without invoking another user's name.
posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 8:17 AM on November 4, 2008 [17 favorites]

I Baracked the vote.
posted by diogenes at 8:17 AM on November 4, 2008

I have never been so proud to vote for anything.

Go Barack! And NO on Prop 8!
posted by kookaburra at 8:17 AM on November 4, 2008

Assuming that my job and kid permit me, yes I am planning on volunteering next election. My experience today has pushed me that direction. Unfortunately I don't know if my job will let me out. It isn't just the day of the election, I understand that there are also several days of training (gotta learn how to look up stuff in the sacred three ring binder I guess) beforehand.

But, as has been pointed out, the election workers tend to be retirees because most of us don't have jobs that will let us out for the election.

And, as I said, I don't blame the workers I blame the asinine system they have to work in. The sacred three ring binder system is purely insane in a world with cheap laptops, and free operating systems and databases.
posted by sotonohito at 8:20 AM on November 4, 2008

Now that the day is here, I wish I hadn't voted early so I could do it now.
posted by Bookhouse at 8:21 AM on November 4, 2008

Amen, Bookhouse. I always feel left out on Election Day because I vote absentee weeks before...
posted by aheckler at 8:22 AM on November 4, 2008

Are all the stickers the same? Do they all say "I Vote, I Count"? Could they possibly get more pretentious?

Absolutely. There is no peak pretentious. There is enough for everyone! Now, remember to write those I's with double the normal cap height, champs!
posted by Kikkoman at 8:23 AM on November 4, 2008

Metafilter: A pasty guy in a green sweater vest with Ira Glass frames skipping down Broadway and singing Leslie Gore tunes
posted by lukemeister at 8:24 AM on November 4, 2008 [10 favorites]

I understand that there are also several days of training

When I was an election officer in Chicago in '92, there was one 4-hour training session mandated by Cook County. Everything else was learned the hour before polls opened.
posted by mrmojoflying at 8:25 AM on November 4, 2008

the Balsams Resort in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire

The very moment I read that I felt a peculiar shiver go down my spine, and realized I had just filled in an incomplete distant memory.

Back in the late 70's my parents and I were driving from Ontario to Nova Scotia and decided to take some extra time and go through the U.S. instead of the usual Quebec route. Late one afternoon as we wearied of navigating the sharp hidden curves and deep shadows of the mountains, a majestic hotel appeared out of nowhere and we decided to spend a little extra to seek haven in a novel setting. As I sat on a bench watching the growing twilight cast long pine tree shadows across manicured lawns, I could feel this place oozing Old America gentility and mystique, like a setting from an Agatha Christie novel.

I have thought about that place often in the years since, but could never remember it's name or where it was located, until I saw this post. Now, with one parent long gone and the other's mind lost to me, I think I shall retrace my journey and visit it again.
posted by CynicalKnight at 8:25 AM on November 4, 2008 [9 favorites]

My polling place didn't give out stickers. Sadness.
posted by the littlest brussels sprout at 8:27 AM on November 4, 2008

Going to bed. Sent in my overseas ballot a few weeks ago. Proud that an African-American might (should) become our next president, because simply he's a hell of a lot more prepared for the job than is his opponent, not to mention the person he picked as his VP candidate.

A little teary now. FWIW I happen to be an agnostic. But God Bless America not just for what it is, but for what it can continue to be, despite the failed Republican Party and what its fear-mongering managed to co-opt since 9/11. For what it should always try to be. For what it always needs to be.

I'm so confused and ecstatic yet humbled at the same time. I need some water or something or a cig but I'm trying to quit. And I whisper to myself, it ain't fucking over yet. Not yet.

Get out and vote if you haven't already. Blue State? I don't care -- think down-ballot. Big picture? Bush II claimed a "mandate" in 2004 after a really narrow victory. Let's give those desperately small-minded assholes something better -- an actual fucking mandate for change, an actual mandate for making the 21st century a better place to existwithin.

/Previewed this like ten times or something. Whatever the fuck. Just get out and vote, and make sure your friends do to.
posted by bardic at 8:28 AM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Alas, no cool stickers here, either. However, I did keep the receipt! Maybe I can staple it to my shirt...
posted by Kikkoman at 8:30 AM on November 4, 2008

I can report heavy turnout of white, middle-class liberals in south Minneapolis. Of course, there's heavy turnout of white, middle-class liberals in south Minneapolis whenever anybody waves a ballot in the air for anything. That's just the way south Minneapolis rolls.

If there was a Marxist on the ballot, I might have voted for him too.
posted by Astro Zombie at 9:58 AM on November 4 [+] [!]

There was a Socialist Workers' Party Presidential candidate (although I think he's not even actually eligible to serve...).
posted by COBRA! at 8:31 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

he rolled his eyes and sighed a heavy "ugh."

This conveys to me that McCain is getting absolutely spanked.
posted by chugg at 8:31 AM on November 4, 2008

When I took my mother to her doctor last month, he noticed the Obama pin on my backpack. He said, "I see you have our guy there." I said, oh, you're a supporter?

He looked me straight in the eye and said, "He has to win. He has to."

He then handed us a couple of absentee ballot request forms, and reminded us that with all of the machine tampering in Florida, absentee ballots were the safest bet. (This guy is in his late seventies and still runs marathons. He's awesome.) He herded us out of there repeating that we had to do absentee, we had to vote, it was the most important thing we could do.

It really is.

I filled mine out with some help from my best friend, and brought it to the post office last Tuesday.

This is huge. This is the sort of history that schoolkids are gonna sleep through lectures about, a hundred years in the future. And it's happening right now. Big, huge history. Right now.

I'm thrilled to be a part of it.
posted by cmyk at 8:33 AM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Yeah but did any of you guys stop and think about how he's a socialist who eats babies?

Because that's totally kick-ass.
posted by shakespeherian at 8:33 AM on November 4, 2008 [5 favorites]

In all seriousness, it depends on how many Dem pick-ups we see in the Senate. I don't think the Dems will end up with a fillibuster-proof 60, so I expect McCain's best friend gets to keep his chairmanship.

The Democrats had to pander to Lieberman in the 110th Congress because they needed him to get to a simple majority, not a filibuster-proof supermajority. That's unlikely to be the case for the 111th Congress.

And in any case, I worry that people overemphasize getting to a magic 60 Democratic Senators. Yes, it takes 60 Senators to close debate and prevent a filibuster. But few votes go strictly according to party lines. It's not like some countries where voting against one's party is a rare event with potentially major reprecussions. It's not like 60 Democratic Senators will suddenly make all of Obama's plans immediately possible, nor will having only 59 Democratic Senators make him impotent. There are conservative Democrats in the Senate who will be opposed to some of Obama's plans, and there are moderate Republicans in the Senate who will be in favor of some of Obama's plans. 60 Democratic Senators is marginally better than 59, just as 59 is marginally better than 58, or 61 is marginally better than 60.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 8:35 AM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

Why didn't I get a sticker? Now I can't get free ice cream! What kind of a democracy is this?
posted by diogenes at 8:35 AM on November 4, 2008 [7 favorites]

I actually voted a couple weeks ago. Oct 13th, I think. I forgot my sticker. I kinda wish I had volunteered or something.

I'm not quite sure what else to say. This is fucking awesome. There are a lot of challenges ahead and it looks like the republicans will still have the filibuster. Maybe they'll be so disoriented and disarrayed that they won't be able to really put up a fight to prevent things like Universal Healthcare.

I actually got polled the other day and the person actually asked me that "right track, wrong track" question. I answered 'wrong track' because I felt the country had been off course for a long time, but at this point I really do think we're going to start moving in the right direction again.

And really, especially lately, it's been more like our metaphorical train had been been completely derailed. Or as if we'd been on the wrong track so long we came to the end, an unfinished bridge over some canyon and just chugged right over the precipice.

Or something like that. But tonight, if everything works out the way it's looks like it will, we'll finally start putting our country back together again.

Not to get all sappy, but it's hard being a cynic in times like these.
posted by delmoi at 8:39 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Northeast Minneapolis: early morning lines about 3x to 4x the length of 2004. Out the door, down the sidewalk, around the corner, down the block. Line shorter when I left than it was when I got there. No idea what that will mean in terms of actual turnout at the end of the day. Process was smooth, just tons of people. In line at 7:30, voted at 9:00.

Reports are coming in of power outages in Saint Paul, if you like a little drama or tinfoil in your election day coverage.
posted by gimonca at 8:40 AM on November 4, 2008

Just came back from an Avenue Q showing here in Singapore. Heard an elderly couple speak in an American accent while I was getting out. Politely asked them if there were American. They said, they were. Then kinda strongly told them that I hoped they had voted, but if they haven't, they should take part in history by whatever means possible.

Turns out only my girlfriend thought I was weird. For, the elderly aunty turned towards my girlfriend, who by then was giving me those what-the-heck-are-you-doing looks, and said that it was okay, all their relatives and friends outside US were also saying the same thing.

_{Just wanted to help.}
posted by the cydonian at 8:40 AM on November 4, 2008

I voted by absentee ballot and felt like the guy who passed up the chance to see a great summer blockbuster movie in person at a theater only to watch it on a DVD months later. Should've voted in person to soak up the atmosphere.

Could it be? Yes, it could.
Something's coming, something good,
If I can wait!
Something's coming, I don't know what it is,
But it is
Gonna be great!
[via]
posted by jaimev at 8:40 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

I voted, I'm liberal, and I'm armed.
posted by interrobang at 8:42 AM on November 4, 2008 [8 favorites]

Or as if we'd been on the wrong track so long we came to the end, an unfinished bridge over some canyon and just chugged right over the precipice.

But that would be a... a... a Bridge to Nowhere! And Sarah Palin says "Thanks [16-month pause] but no thanks" to such bridges!
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 8:42 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

But after 8 years of darkness, we deserve to dance around in the sunlight.

Naked. I say naked and drunk!
posted by ericb at 8:43 AM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

The thing is, babies are actually super-tasty. I think that people who are knocking Obama for baby-eating are really just uptight self-righteous food nazis, who have to introduce into every single conversation that THEY don't eat babies because BABY-EATING is murder, all self-congratulatory and shit.

When everyone knows that ain't nothing tastier than a baby with some Stubb's sauce and sliced pickles on white Mrs Bairds bread. BEBE-Q, amirite?

Yes We Can Eat Babies FTW
posted by pineapple at 8:43 AM on November 4, 2008

I voted in Perkiomen Township, a very small township in the NW Philly suburbs. I could basically walk right in and vote, but the other precinct at my polling place had a maybe 40 person line---and I've never seen lines more than 4 or 5 people long at this polling place.

We've got these annoying electronic pushbutton voting machines, with no paper anything. And no stickers, which was too bad, since I had my two kids with me (the older one, who is 3, is a big Obama supporter---everytime he comes on the radio, she says "that sounds like Barack Obama!" And the other day, she saw a US flag, and said "Look, there's an Obama Flag!" Oops.).
posted by leahwrenn at 8:44 AM on November 4, 2008

Not to get all sappy, but it's hard being a cynic in times like these.

Pshh....I'm sure SOMETHING will go wrong to make it easy again.
posted by inigo2 at 8:45 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Just so you know, there were too many young democrats volunteering to be poll workers this year in mid-MO. So many that my fiance (who has been an election judge previously) was not given an assignment. So, it is somewhat likely that a small majority of the older people are republicans, because there aren't as many young republicans that are volunteering.
posted by schyler523 at 8:46 AM on November 4, 2008

I suppose can report massive turnout in Wisconsin as well, since I voted on Halloween and the place was far busier five days before the election than it was on the day of in 2000 or 2004.

I am perversely proud of the fact that my neighborhood still uses scantron voting.
posted by quin at 8:47 AM on November 4, 2008

I voted.

There were 5 people waiting to vote by the time the polls opened up here in Seattle. Granted, all but two counties vote by mail, and this years "I Voted" sticker also says "Farewell to Polls!" So a good portion of folks have already voted. I don't want to know what the lines will be in downtown, where people relocate more, so are more likely to have to vote in person since they did not receive a mail in ballot, etc. I know our county voting office had a 3 hour line on saturday, just to get into the building.
posted by mrzarquon at 8:47 AM on November 4, 2008

Geez, people...I don't want to be a wet blanket, but this thing ain't quite over. Let's not start sucking each others' popsicles yet.
posted by you just lost the game at 8:48 AM on November 4, 2008

I almost broke the internet favoriting this. The kids are losing their minds -- VOTE BARACK!

(Mailed in my ballot a couple of weeks ago. I'm glad I don't have to deal with the lines, but it would have been cool to be a part of the energy.)
posted by scody at 8:48 AM on November 4, 2008

"And Joe Lieberman. We get to throw him under the bus right?"

If that's what the Democrats want to do, I suspect so. Really, he's going to have to run for reelection next time around, and a recent poll showed that his popularity is pretty badly down in the dumps after this election.

Frankly, I don't think he has a political future, and I can't foresee Democrats campaigning for him ever again.
posted by markkraft at 8:49 AM on November 4, 2008

We're being given a great chance here, to right eight years of wrongs.

Um, let's not start licking each other's stickers just yet, okay?

It'll take a lot more than one day's "Look, we're smarter now." to actually right any wrongs.

An Obama win, should we see one today, is at best a declaration that we're willing to start trying to right those wrongs. Which will take a long, long time.

Thinking that just getting him elected means the world loves us again would be, ironically, another "Mission Accomplished" mistake.
posted by rokusan at 8:50 AM on November 4, 2008 [5 favorites]

oh my god, how many times will i refresh this thread today, it's only fucking noon
posted by poppo at 8:50 AM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

An infinity of monkeys only gets one vote, but we used it.
posted by An Infinity Of Monkeys at 8:50 AM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

interrobang: I voted, I'm liberal, and I'm armed.

And since I took this whole week off, add in "drunk" and "not wearing pants", and you'll have a pretty accurate description of how I plan on spending the next several days.
posted by quin at 8:52 AM on November 4, 2008

If Obama could just go ahead, win and become the first black president, I can go ahead and be the first person to do the "He's BLACK?!" joke, which I have been sitting on for NEARLY TWO YEARS, people.
posted by Jofus at 8:52 AM on November 4, 2008 [10 favorites]

I got in line 15 minutes after the polls opened this morning. Took me an hour to get to the front.

Here in the People's Republic of Cambridge, only two races were contested - presidency and John Kerry's Senate seat. Everything else was a democratic incumbent with no challenger.

Despite getting to work late, it's really heart-warming to see so many people out to make their voices heard. My neighbors told me that this is the first time they've ever had to wait in line to vote in our precinct.
posted by backseatpilot at 8:53 AM on November 4, 2008

Are all the stickers the same? Do they all say "I Vote, I Count"?

No, mine said "farewell to polls / i voted! / 2008"
posted by The corpse in the library at 8:53 AM on November 4, 2008

I voted, I'm liberal, and I'm armed.

That sticker's so great I'd pay actual money for it. Now that's America!
posted by rokusan at 8:54 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

I'm wearing one blue sock and one red sock today.






The red one's for Studs Terkel.
posted by aws17576 at 8:56 AM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

(That's why it's on the left foot.)
posted by aws17576 at 8:58 AM on November 4, 2008

I came here to lick stickers, suck popsicles, and sip on that nationwide beer.


I voted.
posted by Dr-Baa at 8:58 AM on November 4, 2008

"Let's not start sucking each others' popsicles yet."
"Um, let's not start licking each other's stickers just yet, okay?"

Actually, I think we should all vote, get others out to vote, and then, when the polls close, we should all meet up for some serious sucking and licking!
posted by markkraft at 8:58 AM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

I voted early last Friday, so I'm missing out on today's fun. I had my "stand in line for hours" experience when Obama swung through Denver a week or so ago (four hours in line, and I still ended up 1/4 mile from the stage). Anyway, even on the Friday morning before the election at an out of the way polling place in far flung suburban Denver, it took about hour to get through the line and vote. Everyone was in good spirits, though, and the little old ladies running the show kept things moving. I'm sure they'll be plenty busy today.

For some reason, I'm chugging coffee like mad this morning. I've only been at the office for a couple of hours, and I'm already on my fifth cup. It's gonna be a long day.
posted by jal0021 at 8:59 AM on November 4, 2008

Maybe this belongs on AskMe, but: is it safe to go an entire day without exhaling?
posted by rokusan at 8:59 AM on November 4, 2008 [9 favorites]

My sticker says "I made a difference / so can you / vote / Ohio Secretary of State".
posted by mismatched at 9:00 AM on November 4, 2008

Karl Rove, the man widely credited with engineering President Bush's two successful White House bids, is predicting the Illinois senator will take the White House in an Electoral College landslide, winning 338 votes to John McCain's 200.
posted by chlorus at 9:00 AM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

...[Senate Republicans will] be so disoriented and disarrayed that they won't be able to really put up a fight to prevent things like Universal Healthcare.

Even with a filibuster-proof majority, I'm not sure we'd get UH. There are a lot of conservative Dems left. Fewer than in 1992, but still a lot. That said, there are a few liberal (or at least moderate (or at least politically savvy enough to sense the direction of the wind)) Republicans left who might vote the right way on such a thing.

And falling short of 60 isn't such a huge impediment even if both parties are solid at first. With 59, you just throw goodies at the weakest link until he caves.
posted by DU at 9:00 AM on November 4, 2008

Don't count on any exit poll leaks until 5:00pm, says Pollster.com.
posted by ALongDecember at 9:00 AM on November 4, 2008

I voted, I'm liberal, and I have multiple appendages
posted by Kikkoman at 9:01 AM on November 4, 2008

My sticker just has "I VOTED" with an American Flag underneath. Not pretentious at all.
posted by schyler523 at 9:01 AM on November 4, 2008

This is got to be the first time where it was quicker to vote if you were unregistered. I moved a few months ago, and hadn't re-registered because I lived in a gray area between a city and a town and wasn't sure where to register (but was sure where to vote). There was a long line for voters with last names K-Z but no wait for un-registered voters to register, which was fortunate, because apparently baby drezdn hates democracy.
posted by drezdn at 9:02 AM on November 4, 2008

I wore jeans, a white shirt with a red t-shirt showing, and a navy blazer to go vote. We don't get "I just voted" reward stickers so I had to do something to celebrate the day besides pull the lever. Oh, this discussion fills my heart to overflowing.
posted by etaoin at 9:03 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Even with a filibuster-proof majority, I'm not sure we'd get UH.

It may take more than 8 years to get UHC, so it would be nice (if Obama wins) if the Dems starting thinking long-term, the way the "permanent majority" school of Republicans did.

Step 1: Paper ballots.
Step 2: Election Day = NATIONAL HOLIDAY.

Accomplish only those two things, and the voters will take care of the rest for the next 20 years, giving you ample time for all the heavy lifting.
posted by rokusan at 9:03 AM on November 4, 2008 [9 favorites]

I'm asking this as a personal favour, as a friend: Don't fuck this up, USAians.
posted by Paid In Full at 9:04 AM on November 4, 2008

"I made a difference / so can you / vote / Ohio Secretary of State"

man, Burma Shave ads have really gone downhill lately.

wait, what?
posted by xbonesgt at 9:04 AM on November 4, 2008 [6 favorites]

sotonohito writes "The sacred three ring binder system is purely insane in a world with cheap laptops, and free operating systems and databases."

In a time of systematic voter list purges and diabold machines I'm not sure how insane that really is. We have the same system in Canada, though they split the binder into sections by last name, and it goes quicker than most people can get their ID out.
posted by Mitheral at 9:06 AM on November 4, 2008

Step 2: Election Day = NATIONAL HOLIDAY.

Definitely. It's not like anyone in my office is being productive, anyway. And the internet is all flaky today, I assume from everyone collectively refreshing websites.
posted by naju at 9:06 AM on November 4, 2008

Someone needs to punch Karl Rove in the crotch.
posted by chunking express at 9:07 AM on November 4, 2008 [5 favorites]

I'm going to go vote in a few minutes, and I've been crying already. It's going to be a long day. I will vote on one federal position, two state offices, 4 local offices (with up to 4 choices for each), 12 state propositions, and 22 local initiatives.

I want Obama to win; I want Prop 8 to lose; I want my Prop 5, into which my coworkers have been pouring their hearts, to win; I want the Dems to take 60 seats in the Senate, including Jim Martin in GA; I want Charlie Brown to take CA-04; and I want to see my home state of Virginia go blue.

I've never given as much money to as many candidates and causes as I have in this election. I've never worked on a campaign like I have this year. I've voted in every single election since the first time I was registered and proudly if pointlessly voted against Reagan, but it's never felt quite like this. I've never felt like my civil rights were on the line in an election (see Prop 8). I have just never felt like quite so much was at stake.

Hopefully the line's a little shorter now (after 9 am here), so I'm heading off to the polls.
posted by gingerbeer at 9:07 AM on November 4, 2008 [6 favorites]

Here in rural central PA, things are going well. Polls opened at 7 and there have been lines ever since. We waited an hour and were the 198th and 199th votes cast in our precinct. If the Penn State students turnout like this all day, we may be able to deliver a little blue dot in the sea of red that is the middle of the Commonwealth. There was more than a seed of truth in what John Murtha said about this area, I'm afraid. Though the Ms. has been knocking on doors all morning and reports there seems little need for much Obama campaigning. At least here in town.

But we're not giving up. We'll be driving folks to polls this afternoon and then settling in for pizza and returns at 8. Wish us luck. I think Pennsylvania will stay blue, in spite of the robocalls and all the RNC money filling my television and mailbox with bile. I think the folks here see something happening and I think they feel that change inside too.

The whole thing so far has me a bit weepy. I remember this feeling. I remember this pride. I'm glad to be feeling it again. I can't wait for tomorrow.
posted by Toekneesan at 9:08 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

if the Dems starting thinking long-term

Step 1: Paper ballots.
Step 2: Election Day = NATIONAL HOLIDAY.

If they were thinking REALLY long term, step 0 would be a guaranteed college education to every American citizen.
posted by DU at 9:08 AM on November 4, 2008 [8 favorites]

....I'm sorry, chlorus, I could have sworn you just said Karl Rove predicted an Obama landslide?....


Wow.</small.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:09 AM on November 4, 2008

Thinking that just getting him elected means the world loves us again

...is actually not that far from the truth. There are other amateur MeFi pundits vastly more versed than me in the whole "what message the election of Obama will send to the rest of the world" topic, and I welcome their take.

But I don't think there's anything wrong about the idea that electing Barack Obama as President of the United States, with what is shaping up to be a strong clear majority vote, will send a very positive message to everyone outside America that as a nation, we are ready for change and have just taken the first step to start making it.

I believe the big international dailies will be awash tomorrow in kudos for America.
posted by pineapple at 9:09 AM on November 4, 2008

America,

This election campaign has introduced to me for the first time the idea of the "American Dream" as something other than an ironic joke. Whatever the outcome, thank you. But don't screw this up. But we'd love you anyway. No we wouldn't.

xoxo,
!USA
posted by ~ at 9:09 AM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

Voted! There was a line, which there never is. My polling place is a public school - a Spanish-language immersion school - and school parents were setting up a little bake sale in the hall.

I waited about 40 minutes. I cried when I colored in the little arrow for Obama/Biden. I bought some cookies and banana bread at the bake sale. And I practically floated to work.

Times like this I love my country so much I can hardly stand it. The feeling never lasts long enough, but I embrace it when I have it.
posted by rtha at 9:10 AM on November 4, 2008

What a difference two years makes...
posted by bunnytricks at 9:11 AM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

I just got back from voting at my precinct, which is about 80-90% African American and working class. I vote in what is probably the poorest elementary school in Austin. There was only one person in line ahead of me and one person off to the side working out a registration issue. The person with the issue had never voted before and didn't have her registration card. She was able to vote.
It took the very nice retiree about 20 seconds to find my name in the three ring binder. It took me a few extra seconds to sign my full name to match my registration info exactly.
I was concerned that there was no line until the registrar told me that there had been a line earlier in the day and anyway, 75% of the registered voters in my precinct voted early. 75%.
I'm going to go decorate my Obama tree now.
posted by colt45 at 9:12 AM on November 4, 2008 [4 favorites]

If Obama doesn't win, my wife is going to mock every political prediction I make for the rest of my life. In 2004, midday through election day I started reassuring her that Kerry was going to win (based on exit polls that turned out to be wrong). I've been telling her all week that Obama is going to win. She says I'm going to jinx it, and points out that I said the same thing about Kerry. I've explained to her why this time it's totally different, but if I'm wrong my credibility is never going to recover.
posted by diogenes at 9:12 AM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

There was about a 20-30 min. line in Philly, and usually there is no line (maybe 5-6 people in front of me in the past). I am encouraged by this though–30 mins. is not a long time to wait for this, and people in the line were all cheerful. We didn't talk politics.
posted by Mister_A at 9:12 AM on November 4, 2008

My Manhattan polling place picture:
http://flickr.com/photos/jonathanharford/3002028295/

As I took it, a fellow with a foreign accent (Australian?) said: "Taking a picture of history? I did too. I wish I could vote, but I'm not a citizen."

I also didn't get a sticker, but that was okay -- I downloaded a picture of the "I Think I Voted" sticker and taped it to my shirt.
posted by Jonathan Harford at 9:12 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Voting seemed to go well for us in our little corner of Seattle: very calm, friendly. You had a choice or paper or electronic. No drama to speak of. No plastering of signs outside, nor any politicos outside hassling voters. It's a good day to be an American, to be sure.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 9:13 AM on November 4, 2008

sip on that nationwide beer.

Oh yes. And I voted, no lines. At Berachah Church. Berachah is the Hebrew word for “blessing.”
posted by fixedgear at 9:13 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Vote stickers here say "I voted" in English, Chinese, and Spanish.
posted by gingerbeer at 9:14 AM on November 4, 2008

There was more than a seed of truth in what John Murtha said about this area, I'm afraid.

Growing up in the rural hollows of that area, I can tell you that I saw more open hostile attitudes towards blacks, Hispanics, and other "we don't know what they are but they are brown" than I have in any of the other 11 places I've lived South or West.
posted by mrmojoflying at 9:14 AM on November 4, 2008

Also, I just noticed the header atop the site. Nice.

And yes, thanks for your patience, to all those of you MeFites outside the US who have tolerated us all talking and railing about this election for so very long (Especially those of you to whom I was trigger-happy and ill-behaved in an election thread.) We promise you'll get your ElectionMetaFilter back to ordinary, very soon.
posted by pineapple at 9:14 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

My sticker says I made freedom count with my vote. How about that.
posted by dog food sugar at 9:14 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

pineapple, you mean "back to extraordinarily wonderful," right?
posted by Mister_A at 9:16 AM on November 4, 2008

Well, I dragged the woman out of bed at 4 AM this morning. We got to the polls around 5:45 AM and the line was already pretty long, stretching outside the school, around two corners, and down the block some. All-in-all, it took us 90 minutes to vote once the doors opened. The line looked to be predominantly full of Obama supporters, which is good news since this is Missouri and you never know what Missouri's going to do.

Assuming Obama wins, we're going to relax, eat some leg of lamb and drink some champagne. And finally I'll be able to get some sleep; with each day we got closer to election day, I found it harder and harder to sleep. I'm a Democrat, so I'm just naturally paranoid and anxious, even though the polls tell me I shouldn't be.
posted by jamstigator at 9:16 AM on November 4, 2008

....I'm sorry, chlorus, I could have sworn you just said Karl Rove predicted an Obama landslide?....

He may be evil, but he's not stupid.
posted by monju_bosatsu at 9:19 AM on November 4, 2008

So when I get home I'm going to project a returns map up on the wall like the control room in WarGames.

What's the best auto-updating flash map for that purpose? I like this one but can't figure out how to make it auto-update...
posted by Happy Dave at 9:19 AM on November 4, 2008

I voted for That One and Joe the Biden (and No on Prop 8). I was on the fence until I found out that Obama is the love child of Malcolm X, and then I had to vote for him.

It took about half an hour to vote at the polling place around the corner from my place in San Francisco. The ballots have big arrows with the middles missing, and you fill in the arrow with a pen next to what you're voting for. My sticker says, "I voted!" in English, Spanish, and Chinese.

My wish list:

• I grew up in not-real Virginia, lived in North Carolina, and have family in Missouri, so I hope Obama wins those states.
• Hagen over Dole in the North Carolina Senate race.
• Franken over Coleman in the Minnesota Senate race; Tinklenberg over Bachman in the Minnesota House race.
• 60 Senate seats.
• No, no, no on 8.

posted by kirkaracha at 9:20 AM on November 4, 2008

I already voted, but I think I might go down to a poll to stand in line. You know, just for the experience. I don't want to feel left out of everything...
posted by Eekacat at 9:21 AM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

Speaking of elderly poll workers...

My last name starts with H-A-N-R... I carefully spelled it to the woman with the sacred three-ring binder, and she flipped to H-A-N-S... and kept going. I pointed out that 'R' came before 'S' and she looked at me blankly and said "No, you're not in here." I thought briefly about punching an 80 year old woman, took a deep breath, and said, please listen while I spell my name again: H-A-N-R...

"Oh, there you are, dearie! Now what's your address?"
posted by desjardins at 9:25 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Franken over Coleman in the Minnesota Senate race; Tinklenberg over Bachman in the Minnesota House race.

I think Franken will probably pull it out, but the last polling I saw showed Bachmann with enough of a lead to make me doubtful. The part of Minnesota that she represents is pretty weird.
posted by COBRA! at 9:26 AM on November 4, 2008

I'm in MA, went to vote at 10, was done by 11. The old lady behind me said she'd never seen such a turnout, that the line was full of young people unlike any other time in her memory. This was my first time voting, as I've just become an American citizen earlier this year. Here's my first ballot, immortalized.
posted by Dragonness at 9:28 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

And yes, thanks for your patience, to all those of you MeFites outside the US who have tolerated us all talking and railing about this election for so very long (Especially those of you to whom I was trigger-happy and ill-behaved in an election thread.) We promise you'll get your ElectionMetaFilter back to ordinary, very soon.

Are you kidding? We don't mind at all. This outcome of this election affects the world over. I may not be able to vote, but I'm as giddy as a drunk school girl today. Give us hope, America.
posted by Menomena at 9:28 AM on November 4, 2008

My wish list:

• Obama wins a decisive victory (electoral, popular or both) to show members of the Bush inner-circle what the word "mandate" really means;
• Obama wins Florida, if even by the tiniest margin;
• Tinklenberg squashes Bachmann;
• Franken squashes Coleman;
• Anyone at all squashes Connie "Mr Mary Bono" Mack IV (my own personal vendetta);
• Hagen squashes Dole;
• Prop 8 defeated in CA, Amendment 2 defeated in FL.

posted by contessa at 9:29 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Step 2: Election Day = NATIONAL HOLIDAY.

Actually I think this 4-day pre-voting + easy absentee system is the bee's knees.
posted by troy at 9:31 AM on November 4, 2008

I promised Mrs Slack that I'd wait until she's home at 5 so we can vote together. But it's killing me just waiting. I just want to vote and start drinking. I took off from work tomorrow because I intend to be hungover either way it turns out. I'm hoping for a hangover of joy.
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 9:32 AM on November 4, 2008

What's the best auto-updating flash map for that purpose? I like this one but can't figure out how to make it auto-update...

Kinda crappy-but-workable solution: if you load it up in Opera, you can set it to reload every x minutes.
posted by inigo2 at 9:33 AM on November 4, 2008

Done.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 9:34 AM on November 4, 2008

Nthing the Bachmann thing. Individual House members are pretty powerless in general, but defeating her would be sweet relief from the urge to PUNCH THAT SMILING EVIL HOMUNCULUS.
posted by DU at 9:34 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

My polling place RAN OUT OF STICKERS.
posted by LordSludge at 9:34 AM on November 4, 2008 [19 favorites]

My commemorative photo link -- the election article in the online version of my local paper, which ran an image that includes me. (I am the bearded guy in the background with his hands in his jacket pockets, visible between the dude with the bookbag strap and the dude with the white ball cap.) [Sorry about their crappy, gif-ad-laden layout.]

http://www.theithacajournal.com/article/20081104/NEWS01/811040314
posted by aught at 9:35 AM on November 4, 2008

I'm asking this as a personal favour, as a friend: Don't fuck this up, USAians.

OK, but then you have to start calling us "Americans."
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 9:36 AM on November 4, 2008 [21 favorites]

I got to walk out of my front door in Philly, proceed halfway down my block, and vote there. It took all of five minutes. It was sweet. I walked back into my apartment and sent my friend a text message that read "OBAMA," and just then I heard a man on the street outside yell "OBAMA!" Yes, I thought, yes, Obama.
posted by ludwig_van at 9:36 AM on November 4, 2008 [8 favorites]

This is the sticker I got when I voted.
posted by Eekacat at 9:36 AM on November 4, 2008

Just wanted to plug mail-in voting:

Here in Oregon the elections officials send out ballots to eligible voters about a week or so before the election. Voters are then free to fill them out and mail them back at their convenience. I don't mail in my ballot, but personally drop it off at one of the many collection sites around town. Thus, it is the perfect combination of pragmatism and excitement. I get to walk up and vote, but not wait in any lines.

My friends and I keep wondering way the Oregon system is adopted nation-wide, our theory is that it makes voting too easy...
posted by elwoodwiles at 9:38 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

I got no sticker this morning; however, the guy at the voting booth looked and sounded like Ed McMahon.
posted by sswiller at 9:39 AM on November 4, 2008

Let this issues be the issue.
posted by gman at 9:39 AM on November 4, 2008 [5 favorites]

Gyan's right - no one is officially President-elect until their election by the electoral college. They're the presumptive President-elect. It's just like in the primaries - until the DNC, Obama was only the presumptive nominee. The party nominating ballot made him the nominee.

I also want to encourage young(er) people to be poll volunteers. These elderly folks, slow as they may be, have been steadfastly running the polls for years and years. Why? Because they made themselves available. They had enough of a sense of collective responsibility to offer to do something important. They'll be working a long day and dealing with frustrated people. They have to abide by the law, and don't want to be charged with making a mistake and costing a vote. Without their presence and willingness, whaddya bet the system would have been wholly privatized by now? The horror.

Does the technology suck, is the process inefficient? Yes, absolutely. But that could be improved - by anyone here - if you choose to become a poll volunteer and/or join your elections commision. Contact your town or city clerk's office for details.

One of my good friends (my age) became a poll volunteer in 2004 after watching the molasseslike and disorganized process at her polling place. She's found out it's really interesting - she attends a statewide training and has learned a lot about electoral law - and has been able to improve the management of the polls in her town.

If you embrace Obama's ideas, then you know that the responsibility for change lies with us. I believe our elections need cleaning up - so perhaps one thing we could do is turn some of the Obama volunteer power toward pushing our representatives for a Fair Elections Act that could go a long way toward streamlining this process.

I'm not sure that Election Day should be a holiday. Whenever Americans get a holiday, no matter what it's ostensibly for, they use it to screw off and take vacation. Memorial Day. Labor Day. Veterans Day. It all becomes a 3-day weekend or backyard blowout. I'd be more interested in a reform like a 24-hour elections period, more early/absentee voting and vote-by-mail, etc.

w/r/t voting machines: the lever voting machine is in use in states besides NY (I have used them in NJ and CT). It's a great machine - I grew up voting on them, and to me that's still what "voting" is, it's the visual image in my head. The problem with them is that they are expensive and time-consuming to maintain - more than any other system. So your town has to be willing and able to afford them. The New Yorker did a great piece on them a while ago. Here's a Smithsonian piece on The Gear & Lever Voting Machine. They're not perfect, but the technology is visible and verifiable. And they're fun, with the automated curtain and all.
posted by Miko at 9:40 AM on November 4, 2008 [6 favorites]

Some big roofer looking dude in construction boots and a sweatshirt tried to put some Republican shit in my hand as I was walking in but I gave him a snotty look, pulled my hand back and let it fall to the ground. There's was a split second after that where we looked at each other with such intense disgust that I thought we were going to try and choke each other out right then and there but he just kind of went, "Pffft," at me and walked away and that was that.
posted by The Straightener at 9:40 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

I voted. They don't give out stickers where I voted in Vermont. If anyone needs a note to go to Ben and Jerrys to get ice cream, I can give you one. My nearest scoop shop is almost an hour away however (nearest Starbucks, over an hour) so I'll be reloading this thread instead of eating free ice cream or drinking free coffee.
posted by jessamyn at 9:40 AM on November 4, 2008

Voter Superstitions, or Why You're Wearing Blue or Red
posted by homunculus at 9:41 AM on November 4, 2008

I only waited 15 minutes this morning in Dorchester, MA. What felt really good was seeing four languages on the polling place signs (English, Spanish, something I didn't recognize that was possibly Chinese, and Vietnamese) and a Vietnamese interpreter hanging out ready to help people. Yay, melting pot!
posted by marginaliana at 9:41 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Five stupid things to say about the election.
posted by homunculus at 9:41 AM on November 4, 2008

Here's my vote! I've never been so excited in my life.
posted by tristeza at 9:43 AM on November 4, 2008

Upwards of a million people expected in Grant Park tonight? Wow. I don't even know what a crowd that size looks like.

I was at the final rally last night in Manassas. It was freezing, it was late on a Monday, Obama was late coming in from NC, the grounds were muddy, the big floodlights kept flickering, everyone had to park their cars in shopping centers and on curbs and in neighborhoods and walk a mile or so to get to the fairgrounds. But 90,000 people still came, and waited cheerfully for that one last speech. When he finally arrived, an hour and a half late, he was tired, and sad - you could tell; he stumbled over some words and his pacing was shaky for the first twenty minutes or so. Slowly, though, he pulled out that old primary story about Greenwood, SC, and his voice rose back up into that searing, roaring cadence he's toned down the last few weeks - "Fired up? FIRED UP! Ready to go? READY TO GO!" The whole crowd roared right along with him. I'd never been inside of something like that before, cheesy-as-it-may-be united with so many people in one place with one goal; I can't even imagine what it would be like a million-strong.
posted by peachfuzz at 9:44 AM on November 4, 2008

If I were a writer for The Daily Show (assuming Obama wins), I'd have a team go to a solidly conservative neighborhood tomorrow and have two of them wear official-looking U.S.S.A. shirts (United Socialist States of America). I'd give them boxes of Korans and The Communist Manifesto. I'd have them knock on doors and hand the books to whomever answered. I'd love to hear how those people react.
posted by strangeleftydoublethink at 9:44 AM on November 4, 2008 [14 favorites]

Biblio, you should totally read Vote for Duck (by Cronin of Click Clack Moo fame) during your storytime.
posted by saucysault at 9:45 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Here's my vote! I've never been so excited in my life.

You coloured outside the lines. VOID.
posted by gman at 9:45 AM on November 4, 2008

Man, I've been refreshing this thread since 10am GMT and there's still hours before the real fun starts. This'll serve as a placeholder while I get a couple of hours sleep, go to the pub and occupy myself with pop quiz trivia and then come home and sit up 'til 5am or something ridiculous - after going to bed 4 years ago around 3am with the networks calling it for Kerry, I'm going to make sure I'm there until it's 100% certified.
And shit, I'm halfway around the world with no direct stake in it...
posted by anagrama at 9:45 AM on November 4, 2008

Someone needs to punch Karl Rove in the crotch

No point. He sold his 'nads to the devil.
posted by nax at 9:46 AM on November 4, 2008

November 4, 2008

(via mckenney)
posted by pineapple at 9:47 AM on November 4, 2008 [31 favorites]

I just got back from voting. Took about 45 minutes to get through the line (which is remarkable for my polling place, there is usually no line at all). Weird wait in line, between the two scientologists in front of me talking about which judges were "their guys" and the woman insisting that she would not tell her employees that they were entitled to up to 4 hours to vote.

Did my part to show that not all Missourians are rednecks motivated by hate and fear. Take that, Atwater and Rove, you vicious bastards. You too, Sarah Palin, for being a tool of those who would benefit from a fearful nation.

Could the end of the reign of the baby boomers really be in sight?! What could this country be, if we were not constantly replaying the sixties and thinking like we're still in the cold war? I'm beginning to let myself believe we'll have a chance to find out.
posted by Monsters at 9:47 AM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

My nearest scoop shop is almost an hour away however (nearest Starbucks, over an hour)

I've got about 6 within 5 blocks of my apt. Sometimes I wish I lived where you did.
posted by inigo2 at 9:49 AM on November 4, 2008

Are there any plans for a Metafilter IRC channel to cover the election? I know about Metachat, but I wonder if there should be something different for this event.
posted by adrianhon at 6:13 AM on November 4 [+] [!]

Check out the MeFi wiki.
posted by Thoughtcrime at 9:49 AM on November 4, 2008

Mitheral wrote In a time of systematic voter list purges and diabold machines I'm not sure how insane that really is.

The pages in the binder come from a computer you know. Replacing a binder with a laptop won't make it any easier to cheat.

Mind you, I'm a radical. I favor eliminating the entire precinct/voter registration system entirely and going on a networked database of Social Security Numbers. All US citizens have an SSN, so the entire voter registration bit is just a roadblock to voting. Go to the polling place, tell 'em your SSN, they punch it into the computer, verify that your SSN hasn't been used to vote earlier, and you vote. I'm just not seeing why people want to make it so complex, unless, of course, their goal is to make voting difficult and thereby suppress voter turnout.
posted by sotonohito at 9:52 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

When I went to vote here in MA I noticed my Republican neighbours, who moved here about 4 months ago, weren't on the voter list.
posted by Dragonness at 9:53 AM on November 4, 2008

It took me 90 minutes to vote in Fort Greene, Brooklyn this morning. In 2004 it took me 10 minutes in the afternoon. I just couldn't wait all day. Last Day of School... Christmas Morning... we out grow those. Not Election Day. Not *this* day.
posted by yeti at 9:53 AM on November 4, 2008

Metafilter: sucking each others' popsicles
posted by DiscourseMarker at 9:55 AM on November 4, 2008

If anyone needs a note to go to Ben and Jerrys to get ice cream

Whatevs. I got a couple of free Chick-fil-a sandwichs!

Thas right, a couple. Don't judge me.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 9:56 AM on November 4, 2008

If I were a writer for The Daily Show (assuming Obama wins), I'd have a team go to a solidly conservative neighborhood tomorrow and have two of them wear official-looking U.S.S.A. shirts (United Socialist States of America). I'd give them boxes of Korans and The Communist Manifesto.

Just have 'em hand out copies of the pledge of allegiance. After all, it was written by an acknowledged socialist!!! (Dunh, dunh, DUNNH!!) /randomness
posted by saulgoodman at 9:56 AM on November 4, 2008

Voters in another precinct at my location said it had taken them four hours (7:20-11:20). I was in and out in 30 minutes; poll workers were calling for us to come in and skip the long line going out the building and around the corner. Never seen anything like it.
posted by pmurray63 at 9:58 AM on November 4, 2008

I'm not exactly cretaceous, but this morning, as I let a man in his mid seventies help me a little more than I needed to feed my ballots into the reader, totally scoping them out, and help me peel the sticker off as I grinned at him, and as he politely wished me "a good day, young lady," I felt younger than I have in ages, in such a nice way. There's a lot of good mornings left.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 9:58 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

I will be watching the votes come in in Edinburgh with a bunch of awesome folks from our left-of-centre Party of Government - The Scottish National Party! This election means a lot to us - we use many of the same messages of hope and change and the aspirations that we as a country can do so much together.

The real work starts tomorrow. BRING ON TEH AWESOEM1!1
posted by By The Grace of God at 9:58 AM on November 4, 2008

As an utterly cynical bastard, I still say despite the deification, that shit is changing. People like me and my cronies who detest american politics have been volunteering hours every night. Wife and I canvassed rural Indiana neighborhoods for fucks sake, and was astounded how responsive many people were. My worst misanthropic lawyer friends are volunteering at polls to help prevent voter intimidation. My black friends are being nice to middle american white people to a fault. And having spent the morning driving through milwaukee neighborhoods (west side -if you know what I mean) driving people to polls, I can say shit is changing because people are actually getting up and doing shit. Yeah we got a long road, but this is how things move, by people getting uppity enough to walk around where they normally wouldn't, talk to people they normally don't, and do where they regularly would just talk.

And as a former hyde parker, it's good to see my neighborhood get press that isn't "so-and-so innocent bystander gunned down for nth night in a row."

So I'm sparking one for all this. It's a celebration bitches.
posted by sarcasman at 9:59 AM on November 4, 2008 [9 favorites]

This is amazing. The only things that I can compare
this sense of awe, of community, of shared optimism and joy are Grateful Dead shows and the days following the 2004 World Series. The immediate and involuntary smile that would come to the face of a person in Red Sox garb passing another person similarly attired in those days following the series and the knowing smile they reflected back said it all.
The feeling, however fleeting, that everything indeed may be part of a greater plan, and that you have played a role in it. The expressed and implied humanity of people with a shared hope and optimism.
"Strangers stopping strangers just to shake their hands", indeed.
posted by horsemuth at 10:00 AM on November 4, 2008

Maybe I drank too much of the Kool-Aid, but my understanding has always been that this

I'm just not seeing why people want to make it so complex, unless, of course, their goal is to make voting difficult and thereby suppress voter turnout.

...is actually an acknowledged goal of Republican parties. Strong GOTV and registering efforts are always a boon for Dems, not R's.

"Reducing voter fraud" is GOP-speak for "making it difficult to vote, for brown people, black people, young people, and anyone else who is likely to diverge from us ideologically."
posted by pineapple at 10:00 AM on November 4, 2008

I arrived at the polling station about 6:55, before polls opened. There were 250-300 people ahead of me. I needed about an hour to get to a voting booth. Voting took about seven minutes with a detailed cheatsheet, largely because the polling station provided fine-point fiber-tip markers for filling in the large ovals completely black.

Some bulletins from this morning, originally posted on another site:

Time to get dressed and hike out to VOTE
Posted Tuesday, 11.4.08 @ 06:27am


You know that classic sort of film setting of chilly autumn, orange leaves on the trees and the sidewalks, people walking and strolling through their neighborhoods before sunrise, first individually, the small groups and more until the sidewalks term with people heading toward the local brick school building just as the twilit sky turns orange to get in line to vote?

Yeah.
Posted Tuesday, 11.4.08 @ 07:07am


Usual room for the voting is a basement music classroom. This time they located the queue upstairs in the main school lobby and took over the gym for the poll stations.
Posted Tuesday, 11.4.08 @ 07:13am


No brass and strings slowly, softly playing a Ferde Grofé type film score to really wrench the patriotic tears outta ya.

Also, no red white and blue bunting

There were lots of cars cruising the blocks and fighting for parking, though. I don't think Frank Capra had accounted for that.
Posted Tuesday, 11.4.08 @ 07:16am


This polling station serves two precincts. Fortunately I'm in the one with the shorter queue. I'm hoping I'm not told that I'm in the wrong line only once I get to the registrar's table.

Once the polls opened the lines collapsed a lot -- there were initially approx 250 - 300 people ahead of me -- and then collapsed again when the queues were split by precinct.
Posted Tuesday, 11.4.08 @ 07:21am


Poll workers here are very organized and brisk. There are even some who look college aged.

Not too surprising here at least, because the local demographic is pretty well off, well educated, and highly engaged. Ah, college towns.

Voting in other precincts in town is not as impressive.
Posted Tuesday, 11.4.08 @ 07:32am


Maybe not so fortunate. After submitting a voter card and getting my ballot I am now in the voting queue with about two dozen people waiting for six booths.

The other precint has fourteen booths and no waiting.
Posted Tuesday, 11.4.08 @ 07:47am


Poll worker is handing out I VOTED stickers reminding people, "Free Starbucks!"

Almost at the head of the line. End of live reports.
Posted Tuesday, 11.4.08 @ 07:52am


And done. 7 minutes, working from a cheat sheet. Faster than anybody at the other booths. There are a lot of items on the ballot.
Posted Tuesday, 11.4.08 @ 08:05am
posted by ardgedee at 10:02 AM on November 4, 2008

MetaFilter: not exactly cretaceous
posted by DU at 10:03 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

This is so strange. I almost forgot what hope feels like.
posted by roger ackroyd at 10:03 AM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

You Obama supporters sure know how to to make a Canadian woman feel good;-)
posted by orange swan at 10:03 AM on November 4, 2008

sarcasman: And having spent the morning driving through milwaukee neighborhoods (west side -if you know what I mean) driving people to polls

I know exactly what you mean. Thank you, sincerely. If I could have gotten the day off I'd be doing the same thing.
posted by desjardins at 10:04 AM on November 4, 2008

I live in a district comprised of mostly foreign students here on visas but there were actually people in my polling place this morning (at 7:00 AM)!!! First time in 25 years, I'm simply thrilled.
posted by tommasz at 10:04 AM on November 4, 2008

Mind you, I'm a radical. I favor eliminating the entire precinct/voter registration system entirely and going on a networked database of Social Security Numbers. All US citizens have an SSN, so the entire voter registration bit is just a roadblock to voting. Go to the polling place, tell 'em your SSN, they punch it into the computer, verify that your SSN hasn't been used to vote earlier, and you vote. I'm just not seeing why people want to make it so complex, unless, of course, their goal is to make voting difficult and thereby suppress voter turnout.

Ok, but how would local elections work? I can't vote for County Commissioner if there's no record of what county I currently live in.
posted by showbiz_liz at 10:05 AM on November 4, 2008

No line at all today at my polling place at a San Francisco elementary school as of 8:15AM. A steady stream of people, every booth occupied, but I was in and out in about 10 minutes (long ballot in San Francisco). Mrs. Jasper411 voted over the weekend at City Hall and it took 3 hours!!!

The rational part of me knows, statistically, what's *supposed* to happen, but I won't be able to feel that hope til we're over the line.
posted by jasper411 at 10:05 AM on November 4, 2008

Greetings from the (very) right-hand-side of WA state. The interesting race over here is the new-blood Dem (Fearing) against the old-school, entrenched Rep, for Congress (Hastings). Next to no chance for a surprise, however.

All postal ballot hereabouts, and everyone I know seems to have voted days ago, so no exciting tales from the polling front-lines, just one observation. 2000 and 2004, Bush/Cheney bumper stickers were very thick on the ground in these parts. This time? VERY hard to spot, quite the rarity, and this is a very strongly Republican area. I might suspect I've seen more for Obama (not exactly common, either).
posted by normy at 10:06 AM on November 4, 2008

I was able to walk in, vote, and walk out. It all took about five minutes.

They were giving away free coffee inside and they had a large bowl full of miniature candies.

I said to the poll workers, "The sign says no electioneering past a certain point, but I come in here you are clearly campaigning for Obama. I don't think the coffee and chocolate is very subtle."

No one laughed.
posted by flarbuse at 10:07 AM on November 4, 2008 [7 favorites]

Vote stickers here say "I voted" in English, Chinese, and Spanish.

gingerbeer, I saw those too, but when I voted early at the courthouse on Saturday, I just got the standard "I voted" sticker.
There was a line out the door in the rain. Only a ten minute line, and a 30 minute wait once inside, but the fact that Californians would stand out in the rain for any time at all (that does not include tickets to sporting events) was pretty significant. I'm on my way to class right now; I'll be walking by my regular polling place at the Oakland Library. I'm looking forward to seeing a line out the door; in the past I've been able to walk right up to a pollworker, show them my sample ballot, and vote immediately. I expect voters today will have a different experience. :)
posted by oneirodynia at 10:08 AM on November 4, 2008

Ok, but how would local elections work?

These shouldn't be tangled up with national elections. Treating selection of a President as equivalent to a school board chief or a local dogcatcher is craziness.
posted by rokusan at 10:09 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

You Obama supporters sure know how to to make a Canadian woman feel good;-)

How fuckin' lucky are they to have this opportunity? I would have done anything to have an inspirational man like Barrack Obama running up here last month.
posted by gman at 10:09 AM on November 4, 2008

Worth a shout out -

I didn't vote for Obama today.
posted by Ragma at 10:10 AM on November 4, 2008 [18 favorites]

I just cast my vote here in West Virginia. I waited for about an hour. The poll workers were cheerful and friendly, but flustered; they said they'd been slammed in the morning. The overall mood seemed optimistic; kind of a quiet, communal excitement.

There was a sign forbidding electronic devices in the voting booth. I ignored it and snuck a photo of my filled-in circle next to Obama's name.

I thanked the volunteers. And I got the "I Voted" sticker that I was denied in 2004 (they were out of them by the time I made it to the polls).

On NPR, I heard that in some districts, more people had already voted by noon than had voted in the whole 2004 election. And it sounds like the youth vote is actually turning out.

Today feels like history. The world is going to be different when we wake up tomorrow.
posted by greenie2600 at 10:11 AM on November 4, 2008

I'm right now deployed as I sail about the Persian Gulf. In just a few minutes, I'm going on watch for five hours on my ship. When I get off watch, the first polls will be closing on the East Coast soon after. By tomorrow morning, the results will be told. Tonight, I might stay up the whole time just to hold on to this energy, this excitment, that has me so hopeful. Three weeks ago, I sent in my absentee ballot to the state of Minnesota, and tomorrow I'll see my voice be heard. I'll be seeing you guys when I get off watch again.

Peace out!
posted by Lord Chancellor at 10:12 AM on November 4, 2008 [10 favorites]

Wait a minute... I thought if you were voting Democrat, you had to wait until tomorrow. OH SHIT! BBL!!!
posted by bjork24 at 10:12 AM on November 4, 2008 [6 favorites]

We come in the age’s most uncertain hours and sing an American tune
posted by Tenuki at 10:16 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

ARGH THE TENSION IS KILLING ME OH PLEASE GOD LANDSLIDE FOR OBAMA NO MONKEY BUSINESS NO RECOUNT NO FRAUD NO BLOODY SUPREME COURT OH PLEASE JUST A DECISIVE MOUNTAIN OF VOTES FOR OBAMA
posted by loquacious at 10:18 AM on November 4, 2008 [20 favorites]

verify that your SSN hasn't been used to vote earlier

What if it has, then what?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 10:18 AM on November 4, 2008

Thank you, Lord Chancellor.
posted by NationalKato at 10:19 AM on November 4, 2008

The guy sitting next to me in this cafe is talking about how his sister is a pollster and she's predicting almost 400 electoral votes for Obama. Either he or his sister is completely insane, but I am torn between wanting to smack him for jinxing things or lunge across the table and give him a great big hug.
posted by Dormant Gorilla at 10:21 AM on November 4, 2008

How soon after McCain concedes will Obama unleash his unholy armies of the night?

Because, y'know, I'm a colonel in that army and I don't know where to report.
posted by psmealey at 10:21 AM on November 4, 2008 [10 favorites]

Record turnout at my polling place.
posted by waraw at 10:21 AM on November 4, 2008

I didn't get a sticker. I feel left out.
posted by The Whelk at 10:22 AM on November 4, 2008

Someone John McCain needs to punch Karl Rove in the crotch.

FTFY

Up front, I'm 100% for Obama in this. That being said, I vaguely remember a John McCain that could have been the nucleus of what the Republicans had better turn themselves into in the comming years. After Rove and company's hatchet job of eight years ago, McCain had to reinvent (or maybe de-invent) himself as the crumudgeon most of us seem to be not voting for today to get back into the fold.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 10:23 AM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

I voted a week ago and had to wait 35 minutes. The line snaked around the library. I was especially proud to see people patiently waiting on the street to turn INTO the parking lot, much less the quiet respect everyone gave each other, even though it was obvious there was about a 50/50 mix at that particular location (i.e., loud guy playing Motown classics from his car who was giving out Obama stickers in the lot vs. a quiet 70-ish lady who was sitting beside a foldout card table with McCain bumper stickers a bit closer to the entrance on the sidewalk). Even if I disagree with somebody's views, I think it's rude to confront people in public when we are all doing our civic duty and was glad I saw none of that.

Hopefully nobody gets denied the chance to vote today because of the lines. I just couldn't risk it.
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 10:26 AM on November 4, 2008

verify that your SSN hasn't been used to vote earlier

What if it has, then what?

Your mind is extracted and diced, of course... or the preceding vote is voided and you're allowed to vote again. You may do this as often as you wish until voting is closed.
posted by Kikkoman at 10:28 AM on November 4, 2008

Don't y'all forget to experience WFMU's Electile Dysfunction '08 live Webstream as you sit there punching the F5 key. Awesome (and uncensored) so far with much more to come.

Click here to launch.
posted by Joey Bagels at 10:29 AM on November 4, 2008

I'm a Democrat, so I'm just naturally paranoid and anxious, even though the polls tell me I shouldn't be.

I'm a Boston Red Sox fan, so I'm just naturally paranoid and anxious, even though two World Series wins since 2004 tell me I shouldn't be.

My tummy hurts right now. My friend says it's due to "nerves."
posted by ericb at 10:30 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

I'll get on board with that, interrobang.

I voted, I'm liberal, and I'm armed.
posted by Baby_Balrog at 10:31 AM on November 4, 2008

Fox News is fighting a cheerily quixotic battle against the obvious. Their coverage has been good for some lulz, especially when constrasted with Sky UK.
posted by nicolas léonard sadi carnot at 10:32 AM on November 4, 2008

I'm right now deployed as I sail about the Persian Gulf...

We do live in an incredible times when a fellow countryman in our service (thank you!) can connect/communicate with us from a gulf of water half-away around from the world.
posted by ericb at 10:33 AM on November 4, 2008

The part of Minnesota that she represents is pretty weird.

Indeed, Michelle Bachmann's 6th district was gerrymandered after the last census to be a sort of Republican 'ghetto', and to help protect surrounding DFL districts (4, 5, 7, 8) from taking on too many Republican-leaning areas. Too bad St Cloud ended up getting stuck in there as well, they deserve better.

Self-promotion: I was supporting Tinklenberg before it was fashionable. Had to throw that in while I still have a chance.
posted by gimonca at 10:33 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

I got to the polls as soon as they opened this morning and was already probably the 60th person in line. It took about an hour, but I had Triumph the Insult Comic Voter Lady standing behind me.

"You brought a lawn chair, lady. You don't get to vote."

"Look at these people with their kids. Those kids are too young to vote!"

"Oh, come on, people. You gotta sit down in every chair? If you don't want to stand, you don't get to vote."

"Hating the woman with the kids is distracting me from hating the woman in the lawn chair."

"You. Lady with the Uggs. YOU DON'T GET TO VOTE."
posted by katillathehun at 10:33 AM on November 4, 2008 [7 favorites]

*an*
posted by ericb at 10:33 AM on November 4, 2008

In June, I watched Obama accept the nomination on a bad TV by the side of my mother's bed as she was dying. It was on because the husband of one of the other women in her room was visiting, and one of the few things they could do together was watch TV, because she'd had an incapacitating stroke. I learned he'd been visiting her, daily, for four years. I hated the constant noise but I couldn't bring myself to ask him to shut it off.

My mother's death ended a hopeless life, and as much as I've tried to give my heart over to optimism, to jubilation for this moment of history, I've been carrying around that hopelessness with me ever since. Too, there's been deep shame -- shame that I couldn't do more -- shame at the quality of life a person who requires constant care but has no money receives in this country.

I don't know if Obama can change our health care system. I don't know if it's even possible, or how long it would take, or if enough of us will give a damn to do what it will take to support it. I don't know if we're ready to live up to the promise that Obama represents.

But he needed us to get there, and we got him there. We got him there despite being at the end of our own ropes, of being mired in war and recession and the endless lies and cynicism of the last eight years.

So, I'm choosing to believe that this spirit can continue beyond this day, that it can not only get us back on our feet, but finally lift up the least of us -- the poorest, the sickest, the most oppressed -- the ones who've suffered the worst. I'm choosing to believe that people will give more to others who need it, and will actually sacrifice some comfort to make it so. That there will be fewer lofty words and more tangible action. It's a faint and watchful feeling, but it's hope.

And it's hope that this is only the first day of the fight.
posted by melissa may at 10:33 AM on November 4, 2008 [32 favorites]

Another Tale of Going a Big Rubbery One

I've already voted, but I decided to walk past my West Hollywood, CA polling place on the way to the store (to pick up the case of Diet Coke I'm planning on going through today, a teetotaler binge).

Outside the polling place, a woman hands out cards for No on Prop 8. She tries to hand a card to one of the two guys in front of me who were on their way to the polls. The closest guy to her refuses to take one, holds up his wedding-ringed finger as explanation. First thought: he's saying, I take marriage seriously, so Yes on 8.

Then the other guy holds up his wedding ring too. They are husband and husband. They don't need a card to vote No on 8, because they're voting to save their marriage.

Goddamn right.
posted by Bookhouse at 10:34 AM on November 4, 2008 [52 favorites]

I will go all the way back to this thread four years ago as the first time I heard of Obama. The man I read about in the New Yorker seemed like just the type of man we needed in the White House then, and I feel all the more strongly today. After being disappointed in 2000 and even more so in 2004, I am hoping that this is the day that the country turns around.

I've watched most of the past 8 years go by here on Metafilter, and credit this site and its wonderful posters with turning me on to some of the most important stories and discussions that I have encountered in my adult life. I've tried to bring some of the ideas and ideals from the Blue to my friends and family, as I've watched with disdain as the Bush administration has done what I consider to be great harm to this country, all the while wondering why my fellow Americans have been blind to the injustices I've felt were done to our great nation.

I can say today that I have great hope that an a majority of the nation will stand with me today, and that I won't be let down, that the country won't reward the Republicans and neocons with another 4 years.

I got up at 6AM this morning and drove by the polling place. There were cars parked all up and down the street and a hundred people standing out in the rain. I went home and back to bed. I'll leave work here in a few moments to go get in line and then will spend the rest of the day getting drunk and watching the news.

I've refrained from getting too overtly political at work, working as I do at a largely conservative firm. I just told my ultra-conservative boss that i was heading out to cancel her vote. I look forward to the conversations tomorrow.
posted by daHIFI at 10:34 AM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

Kid Charlemagne, McCain sold out his beliefs for the support of the Republican establishment, who was lukewarm at best to him. Once he was done appeasing them, curmudgeonliness was the only thing left of him. Sad. But it was his choice. I don't feel sorry for him.There was an excellent Frontline last night about both candidates- watch it here.

On a lighter note, Betty White tears it up.
posted by Monsters at 10:34 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

These shouldn't be tangled up with national elections. Treating selection of a President as equivalent to a school board chief or a local dogcatcher is craziness.

Oh please. Voting for two different offices at the same time doesn't mean treating the two offices as equivalent. It's just efficient. Wouldn't want that, now, would we?
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 10:36 AM on November 4, 2008

Okay. Going to vote now. Not bringing my guns. :D
posted by Baby_Balrog at 10:36 AM on November 4, 2008

I came here to lick stickers, suck popsicles, and sip on that nationwide beer.

I feel some Merle Haggard coming on.

There's a big, brown cloud in the city,
And the countryside's a sin.
An' the price of life is too high to give up,
Gotta come down again.
When the world wide war is over and done,
And the dream of peace comes true.
We'll all be drinkin' free bubble-ubb,
Eatin' that rainbow stew.

When they find out how to burn water,
And the gasoline car is gone.
When an airplane flies without any fuel,
And the satellite heats our home.
One of these days when the air clears up,
And the sun comes shinin' through.
We'll all be drinkin' free bubble-ubb,
An' eatin' that rainbow stew.

Eatin' rainbow stew in a silver spoon,
Underneath that sky of blue.
All be drinkin' free bubble-ubb,
An' eatin' that rainbow stew.

You don't have to get high to get happy,
Just think about what's in store.
When people start doin' what they oughta be doin',
Then they won't be booin' no more.
When a President goes through the White House door,
An' does what he says he'll do.
We'll all be drinkin' free bubble-ubb,
Eatin' that rainbow stew.

Eatin' rainbow stew in a silver spoon,
Underneath that sky of blue.
We'll all be drinkin' that free bubble-ubb,
Eatin' some rainbow stew.

Eatin' rainbow stew in a silver spoon,
Underneath that sky of blue.
All be drinkin' that free bubble-ubb,
Eatin' rainbow stew.
posted by emjaybee at 10:37 AM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Why do I get so teary reading this thread? Hell, I am not even an American, but I can feel this feeling of hope all the way down here in New Zealand. What is it about this man that does this to me? I guess it is this thing called 'hope', but it feels more: it feels that a wave of something bigger than anything I can recall. We have an election down here on Saturday and I can barely focus on it. But these tears, where do they come from?

And it is so great to share your voting stories here. It feels like such a community!
posted by vac2003 at 10:38 AM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

katillathehun: if you were in Texas, I'd think you were next to a cousin of mine.
posted by nosila at 10:40 AM on November 4, 2008

Ok, but how would local elections work?

These shouldn't be tangled up with national elections. Treating selection of a President as equivalent to a school board chief or a local dogcatcher is craziness.

This reminds me of a joke:
A happily married couple were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. A guest asked the man what the secret was to their successful marriage - how did they avoid arguments?
He replied "Oh that's easy; we agreed years ago that I would make all the big important decisions - who should be president, which team should win the world series, whether the war was going well, and so on, and she could make all the little decisions - which school the kids would go to, what to get at the store, where to go for vacation, all that stuff."
posted by -harlequin- at 10:40 AM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

I voted over a week ago here in SW Washington, so no poll stories. Instead, I'm living vicariously through refreshes here, and my other haunts. And trying to tamp down my exuberance through critical analysis at fivethirtyeight and electoral-vote.

Thanks to all of you who've beat back your own cynicism to get the job done, to all the people who've stood in line, and to all those who worked hard on a campaign, either directly or indirectly.

A new day is dawning.
posted by spacely_sprocket at 10:41 AM on November 4, 2008

"Today feels like history. The world is going to be different when we wake up tomorrow."

Um, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but it won't.
posted by MarshallPoe at 10:45 AM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

In 2004, I lived in Michigan. After the 2000 debacle, I felt that it was incredibly important for me to go out and do something to ensure that voters would not be disenfranchised. I signed up as a volunteer for Election Protection, and was told that I would be working in their central location doing some low-level work. On election day, I showed up at their headquarters in downtown Detroit and was told that, in fact, I would be working as a poll monitor in a small precinct in a poor, overwhelmingly African-American area of the city. I was deputized, given 5 minutes of instructions and a t-shirt with "You have a right to vote" and the NAACP logo on it, and sent off. I had no idea what I was doing.

My job as a poll monitor was essentially to stand around and observe any potential instances of voter disenfranchisement. I was one of two white folks at the polling location all day - the other being the Republican observer. At some point during the day, a dispute broke out between a voter and the Republican monitor, who was standing near the sign-in table and taking notes. The voter was worried that the Republican was writing down voters' names. The Republican countered that he had the right to do what he was doing. The elderly poll workers turned to me for help.

I told the poll workers that if a voter complained about intimidation, they had the right to tell the Republican monitor to step away from the table. I also told them - while looking straight at the Republican monitor - that they also had the right to call the police if their request was refused. The Republican got very angry, stomped out of the building, and phoned his headquarters. After a few minutes, he left. It was clear to me that his job had been to subtly intimidate voters, and certainly not to be a neutral monitor.

That was pretty much ended the day's excitement, except for one thing:

Late in the evening, an elderly African American lady and her grandson came in to vote. The woman finished, and waited for the teenager to complete the process. He was taking an inordinately long time - at least 30 minutes - to complete the ballot. At some point, when he expressed frustration at the process, his grandmother, seated in the corner patiently waiting, said to him:

"I know its taking a long time. That's all right. But you've got to finish. A lot of people died so that you could be here today."

It was one of the most powerful experiences of my life.

This year, I mailed my absentee ballot from my new home in Montreal, Canada. I did not work at the polls, nor did I volunteer, nor did I even get the chance to vote in person. In some ways, I feel a bit cheated to not be able to take part in such an historic moment in person. But then I think about my 2004 experience, and am reminded of all the people who died so that this remarkable election could happen, and won't be able to witness it in person.
posted by googly at 10:47 AM on November 4, 2008 [25 favorites]

Wow, that I didn't vote for Obama link actually made me cry a little.
Guess being a dad makes you a little bit of a wuss.
posted by signal at 10:48 AM on November 4, 2008

For some reason We Sail the Ocean Blue from Pinafore strikes me as the perfect song for this thread.
posted by well_balanced at 10:48 AM on November 4, 2008

Hope is seeing Obama signs in the neighborhood in Dallas where my conservative Republican in-laws, who went to church with the Bushes when they were there, live. 2:1 is better than many:none. Change is knowing that a family member who ran for office as a Republican in the 80s and another who worked for Reagan/Bush voted for Obama this time around.

I voted early, a couple of weeks ago, and waited in line for more than half an hour with suburban moms. We talked about their kids, colleges, the great experiences one of the women had had with socialized medicine in Canada, nothing political. But I had my Obama app visible on my iPhone and one of them had her Obama pin on and we could tell who the woman who lived abroad was voting for.

This is only one step on a long road, especially in Texas, but I feel better about my state and my country and feel more hope for a better future than I have since 1992.
posted by immlass at 10:49 AM on November 4, 2008

Peace to you too Lord Chancellor, and to all of those aboard ship with you also. Thank you.
posted by X4ster at 10:49 AM on November 4, 2008

Good luck USA, I'm sitting here in a country not my own obsessively watching an election in a country not my own, and yet I'm very excited about this election. I'm secretly hoping for a blue sweep, cause it's about damn time.
posted by dhruva at 10:50 AM on November 4, 2008

I'm excited and hopeful, but the cynic is still coming out. Provided he wins, I hope he's even half as special as everybody wants to believe he is, and not just a good speaker with a kick ass marketing plan.
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 10:51 AM on November 4, 2008

I am wearing my blue MeFi shirt today. And I am wearing it proudly to the polling place as soon as I'm off work, so my wife and I can vote.

If they're out of stickers by then, if we have to wait in line for three hours, if there are so many there to vote that the volunteer staff is overwhelmed, I say - good.
posted by caution live frogs at 10:52 AM on November 4, 2008

Today is the ultimate proof for democracy I think. That was the whole deal, wasn't it, that if you were unhappy with the current administration you could vote for something better. That when it came down to it, whatever power the President and Congress had, they could be out on their asses if the people weren't happy. So here we are, we're not happy, and if democracy works the votes will say for us what we couldn't make them hear for the past 8 years.

The air is thick with promise.
posted by shmegegge at 10:53 AM on November 4, 2008

For those that want to watch TV via the tubes, MSNBC TV is live online all day. And no commercials!
posted by ALongDecember at 10:54 AM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

How soon after McCain concedes will Obama unleash his unholy armies of the night?


Thursday. 'round 2 ; just watch metafilter for details!
posted by mannequito at 10:55 AM on November 4, 2008

I waited almost an hour to vote in my solidly red suburb outside Sacramento this morning. I have never had to wait when voting here before. Amazing, even if it was a bunch of right wingers making me wait.

I thought about my five month old daughter and her future the whole time.

Then I went to Starbucks and got my free Obamaspresso (Vanilla Latte).
posted by Big_B at 10:56 AM on November 4, 2008

In reference to: ""Today feels like history. The world is going to be different when we wake up tomorrow."

MarshallPoe wrote: Um, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but it won't."

I'm afraid you're mistaken. Tomorrow is always different. And this tomorrow is going to be very different. Tomorrow will be better than today. Much better.

The lines here at Penn State are several blocks long. Huffington has a post on it.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/04/over-1000-students-lined_n_140859.html

Vote you blue and white knuckleheads. Vote!
posted by Toekneesan at 10:56 AM on November 4, 2008

Um, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but it won't.
posted by MarshallPoe at 1:45 PM

Actually, it already is. My father and stepmother both voted for Obama. My stepmother volunteered for the campaign and has an Obama/Biden bumper sticker on her Mercedes. Believe me, this is a different world today.
posted by NationalKato at 10:56 AM on November 4, 2008

Oh, Rush. Direct quote: "DON'T watch the news tonight! Whatever happens, listen to MEEEE tomorrow." This after counseling a college student to Keep The Faith, and Stay Scared.

'Cause you know, "fear is a powerful motivator". "Oh, yes, Rush! I have the fear in me totally about this election!"

The commercials for John Cornyn, the Senator from Phil Graham, have been conceding the presidential election: "Now, more than ever, we'll need common sense in Washington."
posted by lysdexic at 10:58 AM on November 4, 2008

CNN's "Wolf Blitzer" android to interview 3D holograms on election night
posted by nitsuj at 10:59 AM on November 4, 2008

Um, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but it won't.
posted by MarshallPoe at 1:45 PM

Gotta go with NationalKato on this one. My Republican parents in the "real Virginia" (SW VA) voted for Obama today. My Republican sisters in SW Pennsylvania voted for Obama today. My Republican cousins in Florida voted for Obama today.

Yep. It's already different. I'm looking forward to the holidays for the first time ever this year.
posted by jeanmari at 11:00 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Also, my conservative Christian bff is voting for Obama and another Democrat in her state. She gave up on McCain after the last debate, and was never impressed by Palin.
posted by lysdexic at 11:01 AM on November 4, 2008

All US citizens have an SSN

This is false.
posted by oaf at 11:01 AM on November 4, 2008 [5 favorites]

Looking forward to the moment when hysteria becomes history.
posted by strangeleftydoublethink at 11:02 AM on November 4, 2008

In and out here in the Mission / San Francisco
Had to help the lady with binder with her A-B-Cs which didn't instill me with confidence.

>160 voters in front of me this morning, it's usually about 30-50 even in a good year.

I did indeed vote the shit out of my ballot.

U-S-A! U-S-A!
posted by bottlebrushtree at 11:03 AM on November 4, 2008

I meant to get up at 6:45, make a bit of coffee, and stroll the two blocks to my polling place, where I would STFIL reading my differential geometry book for as long as it was going to have taken. But I slept through the alarm, and went to the poll at 11, where there was no line. Makes me feel better about not waiting in line for two hours to vote early last Friday.

In conclusion, yes we can haz cheezburger.
posted by kaibutsu at 11:03 AM on November 4, 2008

Could the end of the reign of the baby boomers really be in sight?! What could this country be, if we were not constantly replaying the sixties and thinking like we're still in the cold war? I'm beginning to let myself believe we'll have a chance to find out.


Reality check: Barry O is a baby boomer. 1961.
posted by VicNebulous at 11:06 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

I saw a black family walking to the polls today at lunch. Two adults, an elderly woman and a child. They were dressed like they were going to church--the little girl was well-behaved, almost solemn. I felt like I was witnessing a historical documentary sent from the future unfold before my eyes.

I haven't felt like that since I watched the Towers fall.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 11:06 AM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

jessamyn, I can get there in about 8 hours, so hold onto those for me mkay? ;)
posted by nax at 11:06 AM on November 4, 2008

Minneapolis, 7:45 a.m. This is not the entire line, about 1/3 was behind me.

My guess is that this precinct will go at least 4-to-1 for Obama.
posted by gimonca at 11:08 AM on November 4, 2008

OK, now that we're 110% sure that Barack Obama has this in the bag, I'm going to pose a question about the near future:

How will Barack Obama disappoint the Left?

You've got a lot of progressive people out there, people who would normally vote for the Greens, for the various Marxoid newspaper cults, who have decided to vote for Obama for various reasons.

But Obama isn't very leftist in his views at all. He's center-left. Like Bill Clinton.

I'm sure that many of those progressive voters are voting with their eyes open, fully aware of his shortcomings, but I suspect that quite a few have gotten caught up in the passions of the moment and are making him out to be something that he's not. And that's a recipe for disappointment.

So, six months down the road, a year down the road, how will Barack Obama disappoint the Left?
posted by jason's_planet at 11:08 AM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

“ ‘Today feels like history. The world is going to be different when we wake up tomorrow.’
‘Um, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but it won't.’

That’s true. So we’ll have to make it a different world.
It’ll be nice to get to work.

Thanks to all the volunteers and poll watchers, judges, etc.
You folks are the heart of the democracy.
posted by Smedleyman at 11:08 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

ARGH THE TENSION IS KILLING ME OH PLEASE GOD LANDSLIDE FOR OBAMA NO MONKEY BUSINESS NO RECOUNT NO FRAUD NO BLOODY SUPREME COURT OH PLEASE JUST A DECISIVE MOUNTAIN OF VOTES FOR OBAMA

Standing on a mountain of paper ballots. That would be some TV right there.
posted by The Whelk at 11:08 AM on November 4, 2008

The Obama campaign has had this stealth effect of really putting the Republican Party on the defensive and brought out the worst in them. This was healthy - it flushed out the crazies.

But let me ask a different question that will also be important for the nation’s future: What will defeat do to the Republicans?

You might think, perhaps hope, that Republicans will engage in some soul-searching, that they’ll ask themselves whether and how they lost touch with the national mainstream. But my prediction is that this won’t happen any time soon.

Instead, the Republican rump, the party that’s left after the election, will be the party that attends Sarah Palin’s rallies, where crowds chant “Vote McCain, not Hussein!” It will be the party of Saxby Chambliss, the senator from Georgia, who, observing large-scale early voting by African-Americans, warns his supporters that “the other folks are voting.
posted by KokuRyu at 11:08 AM on November 4, 2008

I took the day off from school and voted at around 10:30 this morning in Jersey City's Heights district. There were only a couple of people in front of me, which was completely unexpected (I'd brought a book to read while I waited) but my husband voted earlier and since he didn't return home again before heading off to work, I'm assuming he had a bit of a wait in line.

Each district had their own dedicated machine, so there were about 5 or 6 booths in total at the elementary school were we cast our votes. The machines were electronic, with a piece of white paper covering the screen that had the ballot columns marked on it. It was difficult (for me, in my heightened state of anxiety) to figure out that the touch screen worked through the paper, even after carefully going over the sample paper ballot I was mailed earlier in the week. There was the option of using atm style lower buttons to cycle through the columns as well (I think? I was afraid to touch them). I read the directions again, but remained stymied. At this point, I should have swallowed my pride, stepped out of the box, and asked for clarification on how the system worked. But no.

Anyway, after triple checking the screen, I pressed the Obama/Biden area, was rewarded with an "X" next to their names that glowed up through the paper (Success!) Unfortunately, I then got trigger happy and mindlessly pressed the "vote" button immediately after, thereby denying myself the chance to vote on the Senate and House seats, as well as the local issues I'd spent the last week researching to death. Oh well. I'm a prime example of why it's absolutely ludicrous that there is no standardization of ballots/voting systems. Please won't somebody idiot-proof these things so I'm saved from myself.
posted by stagewhisper at 11:10 AM on November 4, 2008

I am interested in hearing more of your views and would like to subscribe to this thread.

TIRED OLD WHITE MAN MADE OF FAIL GO HOME
posted by Meatbomb at 11:11 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

"I'm afraid you're mistaken. Tomorrow is always different. And this tomorrow is going to be very different. Tomorrow will be better than today. Much better."

I wish I could agree. But I also don't think things will be much worse. And actually, things are pretty darn good right now if you take the long view. We are safer, more free and more prosperous than just about any nation in world history. I'm very grateful for all that, and I don't expect it to change no matter who's in the White House (truth be told, I think either major candidate would do a fine job). The framers of our constitution did a really nice job, that and we have been incredibly lucky. So I say God Bless America (no, really, I do).
posted by MarshallPoe at 11:11 AM on November 4, 2008

My sticker is a simple presidential seal, with the words "I voted. 2008 Presidential Election" around the border.

I'm in Richmond, VA. My polling place is in a hospital a few blocks from my apartment. Over the years, I've grown accustomed to walking in and wandering through the first floor to find the end of the line. This time, at 7:45 in the morning, the line was all the way out the hospital's front door, up the steps to the sidewalk, and starting to reach the end of the block.

My cubicle neighbor over here waited for two hours this morning in a line that stretched four blocks.
posted by emelenjr at 11:12 AM on November 4, 2008

I am irritated with my town for not having their local elections in even years. Instead, they hold them in odd years. I have never voted for my alderman or mayor because they have never been on the ballot when I go every 2 years to vote for county, state, and federal offices. That sucks, and they dog catcher and the president should be on the same ballot. Different responsibilities, but both affect my personal life, and both should be considered with equal weight when determining who will be getting your vote.
posted by garlic at 11:14 AM on November 4, 2008

Civil_D: Good point about 9/11, the response to that in terms of average Americans was the last time I felt this emotional. It's like somehow this is the opposite of that moment, when everything seemed so terrible and there was nothing to be done about it but bond, and its apotheosis--we've managed to take the hard lessons and mistakes of the past 8 years and make them meaningful rather than just another tragedy.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 11:15 AM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Different responsibilities, but both affect my personal life, and both should be considered with equal weight when determining who will be getting your vote.

Then why didn't you show up in the odd years?
posted by monju_bosatsu at 11:15 AM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

I voted.

And for the first time, I voted for someone I wanted to be President instead of the lesser of two evils. When I walked out the last time in 2004, I felt like I needed a shower. This time I felt like I wanted to rolll around in whatever is in the air today. Hope, I guess.
posted by Ugh at 11:16 AM on November 4, 2008 [5 favorites]

I voted the day early voting opened here in North Carolina, well over a week ago. I couldn't wait, I was so excited to actually be voting in person for a presidential election in twelve years (I voted absentee every other time). I am not sad that I am missing out on the excitement of election day. What I am sad about is the fact that it is raining right now, and I would love love love to walk past the two polling stations within walking distance of my house. I don't believe that around these parts, the rain will be that much of a deterrent (it's not raining hard, and it's not cold), but it makes a walk for a walk's sake a little unpleasant. Hopefully it will die down later on so I can go scope out the seen. Go, democracy!
PS - the country I used to live in had mandatory voting, which always takes place on a Sunday. All bars and liquor stores close down at midnight the night before, and bars and liquor stores don't open again until the polls close. Evidently, you can't vote drunk?
posted by msali at 11:16 AM on November 4, 2008

Man...I’d like to have a fact. That’d be sweet.
posted by Smedleyman at 11:17 AM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

OK, now that we're 110% sure that Barack Obama has this in the bag...

Are we so sure at this point?
posted by ericb at 11:18 AM on November 4, 2008

"Today feels like history. The world is going to be different when we wake up tomorrow."

Um, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but it won't.

Look, I'm not as naïve as you seem to presume. I know that Obama isn't the Messiah, and I know that he'll probably disappoint me and piss me off, just as every other politician does, and that we'll be back to petty bullshit politics as usual in very short order, and that the problems we face as a nation and as a world are going to take decades to fix, if they ever get fixed.

It's not Obama's presidency to which I refer (if he wins), but to the way this campaign has rewritten the rules of American politics. Minorities and women can now be taken seriously as candidates. Record turnout and millions of new voters engaged in our democratic process, who will probably vote again next time when they get that notice in the mail. Some long-overdue redemption for the United States in the eyes of the world. A reminder that those blue and red lines on the map are not, and have never been, permanent. And, whatever happens today, the Republican party has gotten a very strong message that they need to adapt to the times or become irrelevant.

Those are all fairly big deals. This is already one for the history books. I stand by my assertion.
posted by greenie2600 at 11:19 AM on November 4, 2008 [11 favorites]

I'm in Washington state, and so voted a week and a half ago absentee, but I just want to say that my West Coast brethren should still get out and vote, even if they think that Obama has a lock out here or that the Pacific states don't matter to the presidential election. There are a lot of other important elections out here. Oregonians, who all should have voted already, need to vote in their senate election and get rid of fucking Gordon Smith. Washingtonians need to go reelect Gregoire, because Rossi will drive our state into the ground just like Bush has driven the nation there. And Californians have just got to vote no on 8. Everyone deserves the same legal rights as far as marriage goes.
posted by Caduceus at 11:20 AM on November 4, 2008

But Obama isn't very leftist in his views at all. He's center-left. Like Bill Clinton.

Center-RIGHT going by the ground stakes of postwar politics TYVFM.

Thing is, for this more matured quasi-pseudo-leftist (don't ask), I don't think a man of Obama's life experience is going to disappoint me that much. My mom was also on food stamps raising me in the 1960s.

The dual question marks are the Congress & the national fisc, but for the most part the biggest influence the 44th president is going to have is the several SCOTUS appointments (the fat guy on the bench is 72 now, as is Thomas. Ginsburg is 75. Plus of course Stevens, still plugging away at 88.

The first priority is to undo the retardness of the past 8+ years.
posted by troy at 11:20 AM on November 4, 2008

Mind you, I'm a radical. I favor eliminating the entire precinct/voter registration system entirely and going on a networked database of Social Security Numbers. All US citizens have an SSN, so the entire voter registration bit is just a roadblock to voting. Go to the polling place, tell 'em your SSN, they punch it into the computer, verify that your SSN hasn't been used to vote earlier, and you vote.

My wife wants to vote, and with your system, she could, without even displaying her Green Card. My daughter wanted to vote, too. She has a SSAN, and she'll be six in a couple of weeks.

I think there may be some flaws in your plan.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 11:21 AM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

^ Correction, Kennedy is 72, Thomas is only 60.
posted by troy at 11:22 AM on November 4, 2008

Then why didn't you show up in the odd years?

I suck. I forget about it. I hear about it last minute and don't research the candidates by voting day.
posted by garlic at 11:25 AM on November 4, 2008

"Today feels like history. The world is going to be different when we wake up tomorrow."

Um, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but it won't.

Not for you. But for those of use willing to shed our useless cynicism for something better, more purposful - there sure could be a different world waiting. And that's enough to make it so. Even a little.
posted by tkchrist at 11:26 AM on November 4, 2008 [10 favorites]

How will Barack Obama disappoint the Left

I think there are probably a lot of starry eyeds who are going to be disappointed. But I think most of us get that he's a politifician, even, if I may, a fairly conservative (by temperament) politician. So for me it’s not even so much what he does, as it is what he does DIFFERENTLY. I am going to be less disappointed at compromises on policy than I will be if it’s the same old gov’t by fiat and filibuster, politicizing of cabinet departments, vilifiying of the opposition, etc.

I am tired tired tired of being the bad guy in my own country because I don't go to the right church, and I didn't marry the white right guy, and I don't hold the same position on Name Your Issue as teh "real Americans."
posted by nax at 11:28 AM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

But for those of use willing to shed our useless cynicism for something better

This is key. This campaign has inspired the country in a way we haven't seen for (at least) eight years. Don't underestimate the significance of that.

I mean, I'll probably as bitter and cynical as ever in a couple of weeks. But maybe I won't.
posted by greenie2600 at 11:28 AM on November 4, 2008

jasons_planet I am a registered green party member who has looked very closely at Obama's past voting record and I'm excited to be voting for him partly based on that, and partly based on the fact that he's an extremely intelligent person who has consistently acted in a reasonable and ethical manner. I don't think I'm going to be terribly disappointed by him, because I'm not expecting anything too far left of center from him. This seems like a very weird "predict the future" question, and I can't see it going anywhere useful at this stage since it's all conjecture. Sure, I'd love a universal living wage, universal health care, gay marriage rights, and a complete troop withdrawal, but I'm not holding my breath. Right now this is what I've got, and given the last 8 years and until recently an utter lack of faith in not only my government but also 50% (give or take, I'm going with take but the numbers have never have been that close to begin with) of my fellow citizens, I'll gladly take it. And feel pretty good about doing so.
posted by stagewhisper at 11:28 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

A new day is dawning.

Fuck yes.
posted by dersins at 11:29 AM on November 4, 2008

Correction, Kennedy is 72, Thomas is only 60.

If I recall correctly, the relatively young ages of Thomas, Alito and Roberts were trumpeted as strong pluses, in that they'd be able to stay in power to represent the Right for a very long time.

(The politicization of the judiciary sucks monkey balls.)
posted by rokusan at 11:30 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Different responsibilities, but both affect my personal life, and both should be considered with equal weight when determining who will be getting your vote.

So you're serious about democracy... just as long as you're not inconvenienced by needing to get off your ass more than once every two fucking YEARS?

Country. Broken.
posted by rokusan at 11:33 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

I was raised in the Chicago burbs, and was a college student in Obama's state senate district during his tenure there. That's also where I started dating my now wife (election day, 1994), who happened to have attended the same high school he did in Honolulu. One of my very best friends was impossibly well-connected in the Illinois democratic party before leaving for the academy, and Obama's pretty much the only person spared her criticism - this before he even ran for his senate seat, mind you (my friend on meeting Bill Clinton: "He's kind of a tool, actually"). My mom-in-law regales us with tales of almost working as a loan office for Obama's grandmother, and pointed out the ice cream shop he's alleged to have worked at as a teenager, among other sites in his life and times. Friends who've taken his classes in law school, etc. etc.

My point is that this election is impossibly, laughably personal for me, with low degrees of separation on multiple fronts. I mean, I voted this morning with my 6 month old baby boy sitting happily next to me in his stroller while he chewed on his ridiculous purple with green polka dots toy elephant.

I can't wait until tomorrow.
posted by NoRelationToLea at 11:33 AM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

I have never voted for my alderman or mayor because they have never been on the ballot when I go every 2 years to vote for county, state, and federal offices.

Then go every year.
posted by oaf at 11:34 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Vote your little hearts out, Amerks.
posted by orange swan at 11:35 AM on November 4, 2008

I write a report for my fantasy league every Tuesday during the football season; obviously as of right now I'm not sure what the outcome of the election will be, but there are a couple of right-wingers in the league I wouldn't mind tweaking.

My draft headline is Under the New Black Socialist Muslim Regime, All Citizens Must Face East Five Times Each Day and Share their Fried Chicken and Watermelon. Too much?
posted by yhbc at 11:35 AM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

Can someone quell my paranoid mind by giving me a good explanation for why MSNBC.com's top headline today would be "What if new president wanted to ditch his VP?"

This editorial decision seems.... odd.
posted by rokusan at 11:36 AM on November 4, 2008

I voted this morning with my 6 month old baby boy... while he chewed on his ridiculous purple with green polka dots toy elephant.

Purple and green. Now THAT's nonpartisan!
posted by rokusan at 11:37 AM on November 4, 2008

The Southern Stratergy Comes of Age. Suck it, Karl Rove.
posted by chunking express at 11:37 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Once you get in the habit of voting every year, you don't forget anymore, garlic. Just like getting a pap smear! (YMMV)
posted by JoanArkham at 11:37 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

"Not for you. But for those of use willing to shed our useless cynicism for something better, more purposful - there sure could be a different world waiting. And that's enough to make it so. Even a little."

I'm neither a cynic, nor do I think cynicism is useless. I try to make "something better" everyday, as do we all (Democrats and Republicans alike, at least most of them). But I confess I'm pretty comfortable with the way things are going for Americans, again taking the long view. We are remarkably fortunate people. As I said, we have democracy, freedom, prosperity. All that will remain the same tomorrow because that's who we are. We will make it so, and hopefully we will make those less fortunate in our country and in the world able to enjoy those blessings as well. That's our project, and I think both candidates and both parties believe that.
posted by MarshallPoe at 11:39 AM on November 4, 2008

All I know is that if Obama wins, this war will end. This awful, illegal, stupid waste of life, this abyss of waste and greed and death, this valley of skeletons built beneath a mountain of lies, will finally end. It won't end well. It couldn't. Things will be bad for Iraq, and we will be the cause. But at least we will step away from the suffering we have caused and let the country alone, because, despite the photo ops of soldiers building schools, our continued presence in the country does very little to benefit the country, and a whole lot to hurt it.

Obama never supported this war, and he will end it. And that's enough for me to hope for for a long time.
posted by Astro Zombie at 11:40 AM on November 4, 2008 [8 favorites]

Wall Street bounce as Election Day draws to a close
posted by pineapple at 11:40 AM on November 4, 2008

I hope I never vote early again. In fact, I hope I never need to go to polls again. Absentee all the way.
posted by casarkos at 11:40 AM on November 4, 2008

You've got a lot of progressive people out there, people who would normally vote for the Greens, for the various Marxoid newspaper cults, who have decided to vote for Obama for various reasons.

But Obama isn't very leftist in his views at all. He's center-left. Like Bill Clinton ... but I suspect that quite a few have gotten caught up in the passions of the moment and are making him out to be something that he's not. And that's a recipe for disappointment.

So, six months down the road, a year down the road, how will Barack Obama disappoint the Left?

I think most people on the left understand that Obama won't create a maxrist paradise, but it will be a hell of a lot better then what we've got. And also keep in mind, many of his supporters will gloss over disagreements (like his FISA vote) just like those right-wing anti-government nutjobs who were out in militias during the Clinton years became huge pro-government nutjobs during the Bush years. Many republicans loved bush even though he wasn't able to ban abortion. It wasn't untill the very real problems with his policies started to become entirely obvious.

The best way Obama can avoid disappointing "Leftists" is the same way he can avoid disappointing all of America. By not fucking up. I think he stands a good chance. We'll see.
posted by delmoi at 11:41 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

All I know is that if Obama wins, this war will end.

If so, prepare for right wingers to blame Obama for "losing" Iraq for the next ten years.

It's still worth doing, of course. But be ready.
posted by rokusan at 11:43 AM on November 4, 2008

I voted.
posted by boo_radley at 11:44 AM on November 4, 2008

Barack Obama / Joe Biden ✔

[voting is better than sex.]
posted by clearly at 11:44 AM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

A young African-American woman came out of my polling place a few minutes before I went in (250+ person line, 90-minute wait starting at 7:30am), looked up at the sky, threw her arms up, and yelled "WOO HOO! YEAH!" loud enough to be heard all the way to the Hollywood sign.

That's some fuckin' change I can believe in, people being actively fucking psyched to exercise their franchise.
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 11:44 AM on November 4, 2008 [9 favorites]

If McCain wins I hope he stays very very healthy, and that he goes all maverick on the republicans.
posted by drezdn at 11:44 AM on November 4, 2008

If so, prepare for right wingers to blame Obama for "losing" Iraq for the next ten years.

If McCain wins, and we stay in Iraq for a decade, the right will still somehow blame the left for anything that might have gone wrong. It's what they do.
posted by Astro Zombie at 11:45 AM on November 4, 2008 [4 favorites]

We got in line at 5:30 am this morning in Arlington, VA knowing the polls would open at 6am. NortonDC brought folding chairs for us, but we both kind of thought we wouldn't need them. Wrong! There were already about 100 people in front of us. (We were all crazy people -- it was still dark outside! Thankfully not cold or raining.) By the time the polls opened at 6am there were another 150 people behind us, so that the line stretched out a full block. By the time we left at around 6:45 the line had snaked it's way around the next corner.

Then I went home and slept another 2 hours. Yay voting!
posted by onlyconnect at 11:45 AM on November 4, 2008

First time I voted for a Democrat for president since '92. I love early voting and got it over with weeks ago.

Please let's make this one worth it.
posted by krinklyfig at 11:47 AM on November 4, 2008

Redskins game win points to victory for Obama!!!

Anyhow, I wish I could vote (resident). I'm not sure how I'm gonna get through this day. The tension is killing me! One way or another I'm gonna be drinking today. Hopefully it'll be in celebration of a landslide victory for Obama. GOBAMA!!!
posted by Hairy Lobster at 11:48 AM on November 4, 2008

If Obama wins, at the very least, we shouldn't have to listen to attacks along the lines of "he's a secret muslim." Unless if they change it to "he'll wait until his second term to instill islamic law."
posted by drezdn at 11:48 AM on November 4, 2008

Fire it up!

Barack Obama is fired up.
posted by clearly at 11:49 AM on November 4, 2008 [10 favorites]

drezdn writes "If McCain wins I hope he stays very very healthy, and that he goes all maverick on the republicans."

If McCain wins, he'll be hedged in by a Democratic Congress and an electorate that most likely voted against him in the popular vote. He'd be unpopular on all sides.

IOW, he'd be once again a prisoner.
posted by krinklyfig at 11:49 AM on November 4, 2008

Argh, I'm so excited and nervous I can't even type right... Redskins LOSS of course.
posted by Hairy Lobster at 11:49 AM on November 4, 2008

Fire it up! -- Barack Obama is fired up.

"It shows you what one voice can do!"

That's a great video.
posted by ericb at 11:53 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

My 18-year-old niece, who suffers from Asperger's and lives in a group home, excitedly voted for Obama today. She asked if it was "weird" that she took a picture of the voting booth, and then asked a poll worker to take a picture of her in the voting booth. I told her that's the least weird thing she has ever done.
posted by Knappster at 11:53 AM on November 4, 2008 [9 favorites]

Someone told my mom at work Obama is planning to have a "red armband secret police." For real. "[She] heard it in one of his speeches!"
posted by bitter-girl.com at 11:54 AM on November 4, 2008

Was thinking back to what I wrote 4 years ago in my journal...

I went dark for a while, inside and out. Couldn't think of what to say. I felt utterly, utterly defeated. Nov 3rd, I cried for the first time in years.

I wake up every morning feeling angry and depressed. Every time I see his face in the news it's like a punch to the gut. I'll be 32 years old and that smirking fucker will STILL, STILL be president. All the CA props I cared about went down (unless I was against them, in which case they succeeded). Daschle went down. GOP gained in congress and senate. Rehnquist has cancer.

Have to turn constructive, have to look forward. Shawn sent me this link, which I found at least mildly comforting. I know he's right. CHIN UP MOTHERFUCKERS. I know it, it's just gonna take some time to accept what happened.

Feeling more optimistic today than I have in a long, long time.
posted by jcruelty at 11:55 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

I voted in (in Cambridge, MA for the first time). I came to the polling place armed with bank statements and credit card statements and letters with my name and address and lots of photo ID, ready to do dark battle with evil elections commissioners determined to deny me my sacred right to vote. When I got there, I stepped up to the table, told them my name and address, and she pleasantly handed me a ballot. Then I filled it out, kissed it for good luck, and fed it to the scantron's maw.

Altogether a satisfying experience. And it's a beautiful warm day too.
posted by Salvor Hardin at 11:55 AM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

The wife and I went to partake in the last day of early voting after a combined trip of some 2,600 miles. Last week was a nice vacation spent in eastern Indiana and a short stint in Millersport, Ohio. During our stay in this slice of the heartland, I can tell you... things were mixed. I saw many Obama/Biden and McCain/Palin signs.

This nation is frayed, tattered and torn. It's people are hard working, dedicated... and tired.

I know I am.

On our return to Jacksonville, we diverted to Greenville, SC. Trent Reznor put on one hell of a concert...

We waited in line for two and a half hours to vote. The line surrounded our local branch library. The local Dem party did a good job of getting quality candidates on the ballot. I actually could feel good about voting a solid Dem ticket.

The wife and I did what we could to vote down Amendment 2.
posted by PROD_TPSL at 11:55 AM on November 4, 2008

You've got a lot of progressive people out there, people who would normally vote for the Greens, for the various Marxoid newspaper cults, who have decided to vote for Obama for various reasons.

...And then you have people like one of my friends who's a delegate for the Green Party, who's campaigned outside his local polling station, and who almost definitely voted for Cynthia McKinney because he disliked Obama and McCain. Some of the really progressive people still didn't buy Obama no matter what.

(Although, my friend once told me that the PTA at the school where he votes always has a bake sale on election day, and today he said that the selection they had was the best he'd ever seen, so there was at least some silver lining for him...)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:56 AM on November 4, 2008

Today, while I was standing in line, this little old white woman came hobbling out of the building after voting. She looked up and recognition fell across her face as she saw a tall, black gentleman standing in line. He called out her name, smiles stretched across both their faces, and then they hugged. Right there. Right in public, in front of all these people. And i'm thinking, this couldn't have happened 50 years ago. She couldn't have hugged a black man in public, she couldn't even have had a friendship with a black man. After they chatted for a few minutes, she leaned in, touched the man's Obama pin on his collar, and said, "he will do us proud."
posted by Ugh at 11:56 AM on November 4, 2008 [20 favorites]

I just got back from dropping off my ballot (and stopping for just-in-case champagne on the way home).

Absolutely smooth experience--a couple of high school kids checked my address against a list and directed me to the right table for my precinct, where I plopped my ballot in a box and got a sticker for myself and one for my four-year-old. I have never seen so many smiles in a polling place in my entire life.
posted by padraigin at 11:56 AM on November 4, 2008

So you're serious about democracy... just as long as you're not inconvenienced by needing to get off your ass more than once every two fucking YEARS?

Country. Broken.

You're arguing that voting should be as inconvenient as possible, so that... um, I'm not sure how to finish that sentence. I'm not even understanding why you would want to have elections on multiple days that could be held just as easily on one day. Wait, was it because there were different ID standards for different elections? Even if that were the case, that doesn't mean the elections would have to be held on different days.

I voted in seventeen different races and on five judicial retention questions today. Should I be required to cast those votes on twenty-two different days, just to prove my devotion to democracy to you? I don't think so.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 11:57 AM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

This brown dude in Toronto is totally fired up!
posted by chunking express at 11:57 AM on November 4, 2008

Princeton prof Sam Wang has put out an election night cheatsheet.

And here's a meta-projection based on the meta-projections. If you look down the list, there's only one site projecting a McCain win... and that one is, um, kinda insane. Very Baghdad Bob.
posted by dw at 11:57 AM on November 4, 2008

PS: A friend of mine came up with a brilliant idea for how to check to see if your ballot was counted: For one of the minor local elections, preferably where someone is running unopposed, write yourself in as a candidate (or a fictional person). Then when the election is over, presumably the write-ins are published somewhere, and if you appear as a write-in candidate, you know that your ballot was counted! Right?

I chickened out though - I was too nervous about messing something up, so I just dutifully voted for all the unopposed democrats.
posted by Salvor Hardin at 11:58 AM on November 4, 2008

Also, for the love of god I hope Obama takes Virginia.
posted by chunking express at 11:58 AM on November 4, 2008

Reality check: Barry O is a baby boomer. 1961.

Or not.

I go with not.
posted by lysdexic at 11:59 AM on November 4, 2008

Ready to go!
posted by drezdn at 12:01 PM on November 4, 2008

I was third in line at my precinct at 5:45 this morning. By the time I came out to show off my sticker, there were dozens waiting. (And yes, I am wearing my "Bush's Last Day" t-shirt!) My first presidential vote was for Jimmy Carter in 1976. Nothing measures up to today - nothing.
Yes. We. Can.
posted by tizzie at 12:03 PM on November 4, 2008

I hope I never vote early again. In fact, I hope I never need to go to polls again. Absentee all the way.

I voted on Halloween and it was eerily fitting with so many folks dressed up in costume. I prefer it.
posted by effwerd at 12:03 PM on November 4, 2008

I am happy and proud of my sticker - I'm a Georgia Voter on a peach background. I have gotten a bit teary eyed reading some of the personal accounts on MeFi and elsewhere today.

One icky thing: a friend who is working at her desk (at a Federal office no less) is getting robocalls from a group called rightchange.com who are anti-Obama. Grr.
posted by pointystick at 12:03 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Someone told my mom at work Obama is planning to have a "red armband secret police." For real. "[She] heard it in one of his speeches!"

How would that work exactly?

"Are you a secret policeman?"

"No! I'm a regular fella like you! Beer! Football! Howdy howdy howdy!"

"But you're wearing a red --"

"IGNORE THE RED ARMBAND BEER FOOTBALL HOWDY HOWDY HOWDY."
posted by Shepherd at 12:05 PM on November 4, 2008 [26 favorites]

I voted in seventeen different races and on five judicial retention questions today. Should I be required to cast those votes on twenty-two different days, just to prove my devotion to democracy to you? I don't think so.

Did you vote to re-elect the lady that serves lunch in your court house?
posted by chunking express at 12:05 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

I also didn't get a sticker, but that was okay -- I downloaded a picture of the "I Think I Voted" sticker and taped it to my shirt.

Yeah, I made one, too.
posted by pfafflin at 12:06 PM on November 4, 2008

You're arguing that voting should be as inconvenient as possible,

No, I'm saying that if getting off your ass once every year or two is TOO MUCH WORK, you don't have much room to complain about getting the government you deserve.

Voting in the USA is already ridiculously convoluted and inconvenient enough, thanks.
posted by rokusan at 12:07 PM on November 4, 2008

I watched The War Room last night and I think it was just what I needed. Really interesting to (please, please, please) watch history repeat itself. Carville's main selling points were: 1) Change, not more of the same. 2) It's the economy, stupid. and 3) Debate.

That strategy brought in a landslide. 370 electoral votes. I'm not holding my breath for the same results, but that would be sweeter than th free ice cream I'm gonna pick up later today.
posted by piratebowling at 12:07 PM on November 4, 2008

Then when the election is over, presumably the write-ins are published somewhere, and if you appear as a write-in candidate, you know that your ballot was counted! Right?

Write-ins are only counted when they reach a certain threshold, I believe. 500 votes? 1000 votes? I could be wrong.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 12:08 PM on November 4, 2008

The line was around the fucking block in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

Here's what the line looked like at PS 282.
posted by Mo Nickels at 12:08 PM on November 4, 2008

Salvor Hardin -- I had the same exact experience! Double and then triple checked for my license, a bill in my name and the card saying I was registered. No need! I love you, Cambridge!

Then again, I probably shouldn't have been that surprised. This is a city where you can register to vote by describing where you live or drawing it on a map. Making it easy for homeless people to vote? Amazing! (do other places do this as well?)
posted by giraffe at 12:09 PM on November 4, 2008

PS: A friend of mine came up with a brilliant idea for how to check to see if your ballot was counted: For one of the minor local elections, preferably where someone is running unopposed, write yourself in as a candidate (or a fictional person). Then when the election is over, presumably the write-ins are published somewhere, and if you appear as a write-in candidate, you know that your ballot was counted! Right?

Sweet! I did this without even meaning to! I knew that writing my friends in for Soil and Water Conservation Commissioner was going to pay off in the end...
posted by COBRA! at 12:11 PM on November 4, 2008

On top of which, should the future of humanity be decided in an 'Ender's Game' style proxy war, DaShiv is a real sharpshooter!

DaShiv == Locke

DaShiv for Hegemon 2016!!
posted by jpdoane at 12:12 PM on November 4, 2008

Good point about 9/11, the response to that in terms of average Americans was the last time I felt this emotional.

Also, for me, the last time I spent obsessively reloading a single MeFi thread all day. :\
posted by epersonae at 12:12 PM on November 4, 2008

the war room could really have used a narrator to tie the snippets in time all together. felt uneven.
posted by krautland at 12:12 PM on November 4, 2008

sotonohito writes "The pages in the binder come from a computer you know. Replacing a binder with a laptop won't make it any easier to cheat."

Geez there must be dozens of ways the data on a laptop can be tampered with easier than the paper printout.

sotonohito writes "All US citizens have an SSN"

Really? I know for the equivalent here (SINs) that statement isn't even remotely true.

Kikkoman writes "or the preceding vote is voided and you're allowed to vote again. You may do this as often as you wish until voting is closed."

How do you do this and not track how people voted?
posted by Mitheral at 12:13 PM on November 4, 2008

Someone told my mom at work Obama is planning to have a "red armband secret police." For real. "[She] heard it in one of his speeches!"

I have an aunt and uncle who live in Arizona, and Mom told me the last time she'd spoken with them my aunt said that she was voting for McCain because "if Obama wins, he's gonna make us all wear burquas or something!"

"So," my Mom finished, "ever since then I've kind of tried avoiding talking to them...."
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:14 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Walking up Commercial Drive yesterday, and seeing Obama everywhere-- on the front cover of the local weekly, in pictures on store windows (particularly the African owned businesses), on posters where "Victory Parties" are being advertised in halls and at bars and restaurants around town. I came home to see as usual the scooter belonging to one of my neighbours, which has Obama/Biden stickers on it.

And I live in Canada. There's a whole lot of us who are hoping for the best for you, America.
posted by jokeefe at 12:15 PM on November 4, 2008 [5 favorites]

This makes two political threads I'll have participated in this week, something I usually avoid. But this story needs to be told, not a show what a great guy I am, but because even here, in the reddest corner of this reddest of red states, people are still excited and happy to vote.

Last night was blustery and rainy here in the southeast, and on my way home from the grocery store, the car in front of me shuddered to a stop and then the lights blinked out. When the family piled out and began poking around under the hood, I turned on my hazards and went to see if I could help. It was a african-american family - husband, wife and kid and the husband's brother. Their car was having alternator problems and wouldn't let them shift into neutral with no power, so I offered to let them jump off my battery to get the car into neutral. We did that and then I helped them push it thru two intersections to a parking lot, where the brother had gone and gotten his car so they could take their battery home and charge it then come back and move the disabled car home. The man shook my hand and thanked me for stopping to help, so I told him it was no problem, I hoped someone would do the same for me and if he really wanted to pay me back, he'd go vote tomorrow. He cracked a wide grin and nearly lost the toothpick at the corner of his mouth. "We already did," he said, "I guess I paid it forward, I got to make history and gained a good deed." He shook my hand a second time with an extra oomph and then I left.

I was in line when the polling place opened this morning and for the two hours I stood out in the rain and wind, I thought about that man's grin. I had one to match when I left.

I have a bottle of California wine from 2004 that will be accompanying my tv watching tonight. It hopefully will have been a long, sweet wait.
posted by 1f2frfbf at 12:17 PM on November 4, 2008 [4 favorites]

Where can I order one of these red armbands?
posted by rokusan at 12:17 PM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

For one of the minor local elections, preferably where someone is running unopposed, write yourself in as a candidate (or a fictional person). Then when the election is over, presumably the write-ins are published somewhere, and if you appear as a write-in candidate, you know that your ballot was counted! Right?

That's assuming that the election officials actually count those write-in votes, which can be a somewhat optimistic assumption in some precincts.

According to Richard Winger, of Ballot Access News:

States don’t tally any write-in votes for president until December, and sometimes January. Certain areas of the country illegally don’t count them at all. Washington, Oregon, Alaska, and the District of Columbia all refuse to provide a tally for the declared write-in candidates. . . New York city habitually fails to count any write-in votes for the declared write-in presidential candidates. The Board says it is too much work to take down the heavy rolls of paper from the mechanical voting machines and look at them.

posted by jason's_planet at 12:17 PM on November 4, 2008

Man. I try not to get all "LOLCONSERVATIVES"—surely there must be people on the left who are just as uninformed, obnoxious, and generally repellent as the secret-Muslin-red-armband people, right?—but there really does seem to be a lot more of that on the right.
posted by greenie2600 at 12:18 PM on November 4, 2008

Someone on Twitter was going on about how liberals are going to have to suck it when the Muslim Obama + Bradley Effect 15% bump puts McCain ahead. There is a lot of stupidness if you read the election twitter feed. A lot.
posted by chunking express at 12:21 PM on November 4, 2008

The Board says it is too much work to take down the heavy rolls of paper from the mechanical voting machines and look at them.

[ Please copy/paste my comment above re "lazy asses = gov't they deserve" into this space. Kthx. ]
posted by rokusan at 12:22 PM on November 4, 2008

>Where can I order one of these red armbands?

you should already have one in your official Obama Secret Muslim Army welcome tote bag, right underneath the Koran.
posted by xbonesgt at 12:22 PM on November 4, 2008 [7 favorites]

Rest of world: We have a stake, too.
posted by ericb at 12:23 PM on November 4, 2008

At our voting precinct in Harlem, there were about 60 people when I got there an hour before the polls opened. A few minutes later an older woman, maybe seventy, stumbled and fell as she made her way to the line.

Five or six people ran over, helped her up, gave her the first space in line, and made sure she made it to the booth okay. She came out afterwards, and another woman asked, "did you get to vote for him?" She said "I sure did."

It was good.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 12:23 PM on November 4, 2008 [7 favorites]

I cast my vote this morning on the glorious mechanical machine (it's the only kind I've ever voted on... in TN, DE, and now NY). My boyfriend cast his around noon. Sadly, his elderly McCain supporting father has decided not to vote. He's worried about the lines and the "his vote won't matter in New York".

Just weeks ago, I was hoping for this... that elderly voters (including my grandfather in Mississippi) who won't support Obama, but who were not that crazy about McCain would just stay home. But now that just makes me sad. By becoming obsessed with this election, I've come to realize that the process is as important as the outcome, and I don't want ANYONE to feel disenfranchised.

We've offered to go with him and carry a chair he can sit on while waiting... I hope he changes his mind.
posted by kimdog at 12:24 PM on November 4, 2008 [4 favorites]

When I voted, an elderly woman with a cane came out right behid me, clutching her heart and sayinf "I needed to vote in this election. This election. THIS election."

She then ignored all the exit signs and walked into a closet.

That's a true story. Not meaning to make fun of anybody, although I'm a little concerned as to who she might have voted for by accident.
posted by Astro Zombie at 12:25 PM on November 4, 2008 [31 favorites]

I voted two weeks ago at a grocery store one mile from the apt. I was in and out in 10 minutes. Sticker type: 'I voted'. This location had seven or eight touch screen machines and was open the the last two weeks before today. Awesome. It was amusing (as always) seeing that rooster instead of a donkey... silly Indiana.
posted by xorry at 12:25 PM on November 4, 2008

> Write-ins are only counted when they reach a certain threshold, I believe. 500 votes? 1000 votes? I could be wrong.

I'm missing something. How do they know that the threshold has been reached, if they are not counting the votes?
posted by gruchall at 12:25 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

No, I'm saying that if getting off your ass once every year or two is TOO MUCH WORK, you don't have much room to complain about getting the government you deserve.

No one is saying voting every year or twice a year or whatever is too much work. What I am saying is that, given the choice between voting once every two years, or voting more often (but for no more offices than one would vote for in a consolidated biennial election), the consolidated option is to be preferred. Saying that one strongly prefers to have a consolidated election is not the same as saying one is unwilling to vote in spread-out elections.

What was your alleged advantage of having spread-out elections?

I prefer to do my grocery shopping once a week. If I'm not permitted to do that, and forced to shop for one meal at a time, then sure I'd do that rather than starve, but I'll fight tooth and nail to be able to shop just once a week. And you'd better have a damned good reason for forcing me to shop three times a day, better than "well if you're not willing to shop for food three times a day we're doomed to starvation as a species."

Not to mention that it's disingenuous of you to now claim that you're only complaining about those who will not even vote "every year or two," when previously you wrote that someone who was willing to vote only once every two years meant "Country. Broken." Which is it? Is once every two years enough, or not?

Did you vote to re-elect the lady that serves lunch in your court house?

No, nor did I vote for dogcatcher.

Federal: President/Vice President, U.S. Representative
State: Governor/Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Superintendent of Public Instruction, State Senator, State Representative, Circuit Judge, Superior Court Judge x3,
County: Auditor, Treasurer, Surveyor, Commissioner x2, Council Member (choose 3 of 5)
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 12:26 PM on November 4, 2008

How do you do this and not track how people voted?

One-way hash the SSN with some known salt. The voter has their SSN, the voting division has the salt, the result of the hash, and the associated vote. If you try to vote using the same SSN, the hash is re-generated and any earlier matching votes deleted.

That's a hand-wavy summary of one possible approach, anyway...
posted by Kikkoman at 12:27 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

I'm missing something. How do they know that the threshold has been reached, if they are not counting the votes?

Damn it. You've exposed the deliberate flaw in the system that keeps write ins from actually ever winning anything.

Well done. Now we have to make Mickey Mouse president.
posted by Astro Zombie at 12:27 PM on November 4, 2008

[my AskMe counter is still running so...]

1. What is the bestest cheapest champagne?
2. How does one pop a cork like a world champion?

2a. How would I best go about popping a cork directly into my face if this election is stolen?
posted by clearly at 12:29 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Right, just one more thing. I only wanted to say that I love this photo (via).
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 12:29 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Talked to an old friend last night and we figured out we'd be pretty much cancelling out each other's vote. (In case there wasn't enough impetus to get to the polls already.)
posted by small_ruminant at 12:29 PM on November 4, 2008

Yay I voted! This is my first presidential election!
posted by CitrusFreak12 at 12:29 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

At our voting precinct in Harlem, there were about 60 people when I got there an hour before the polls opened. A few minutes later an older woman, maybe seventy, stumbled and fell as she made her way to the line.

Five or six people ran over, helped her up, gave her the first space in line, and made sure she made it to the booth okay.

Oh, I almost choked up when a couple pollworkers were helping an ancient-looking woman on a walker find her way to the proper booth. There was a huge line for my booth, and we were blocking her sight of it, but she was still hopefully creeping towards us, leaning on a walker.

And as if it were a signal, everyone in my line all scrunched ourselves together to clear a space for her to see her way through to the booth, and the two pollworkers at the booth where she needed to get to spotted her creeping forward and started calling to her -- "c'mon over here, Mamma!" -- and waving her to them, with outstretched arms like angels in a Michaelangelo painting.

As the woman crept towards the booth, the thing that almost made me choke up was -- she had a voter registration card clutched in her hand, and it looked just so worn, as if it had seen years and years of being taken in and out of wallets and purses in countless other elections.

The last I saw of her, she'd made it over to the table and the pollworkers were hovering around her helping to find her name in the voter list -- and then the lines for the other booths shifted back into place and I lost sight of them again.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:30 PM on November 4, 2008 [7 favorites]

I have an aunt and uncle who live in Arizona, and Mom told me the last time she'd spoken with them my aunt said that she was voting for McCain because "if Obama wins, he's gonna make us all wear burquas or something!"

"So," my Mom finished, "ever since then I've kind of tried avoiding talking to them...."

Ugh. These are my wife's parents (in Arizona too, no less). I can't WAIT until they visit next week!
posted by Big_B at 12:31 PM on November 4, 2008

I voted three weeks ago.

The people all around me show little interest in the election, which is no surprise because it's not their country voting, after all, so I wouldn't expect them to. But I'm a bit sad, on today of all days, not to have anyone to share my excitement, hope and nervousness with. To sit at work today and hold it in and not talk to people about the election was difficult. So I will be staying up most of the night watching it on tv and the internet and sharing excitement with my friends back home over the phone. : /

Go go go America. I have such high hopes.
posted by triggerfinger at 12:34 PM on November 4, 2008

I have an aunt and uncle who live in Arizona, and Mom told me the last time she'd spoken with them my aunt said that she was voting for McCain because "if Obama wins, he's gonna make us all wear burquas or something!"

Meanwhile in reality: The established right-wing faction in the US already is "gonna make us all wear burquas or something!" by way of theological law-making.

Legislation to ban gay marriage, the potential de-legalization of abortion - these are all ideological burquas. Freedom for only some is the same as freedom for none.
posted by loquacious at 12:35 PM on November 4, 2008 [4 favorites]

But Obama isn't very leftist in his views at all. He's center-left. Like Bill Clinton.

Anybody who is opposed to gay marriage (Obama is) is going to have be called "center-right" in my playbook.
posted by KokuRyu at 12:35 PM on November 4, 2008 [5 favorites]

How does one pop a cork like a world champion?

With a motherfucking sword.
posted by enn at 12:35 PM on November 4, 2008 [5 favorites]

Not to mention that it's disingenuous of you to now claim that you're only complaining about those who will not even vote "every year or two," when previously you wrote that someone who was willing to vote only once every two years meant "Country. Broken."

Of all the threads for bad arguments, can we save this one? Please read back. I was responding to garlic's complaint that he couldn't be bothered to vote in odd years. Doing that would mean a vote for something every year. Without that, it's every two. I say if you can't be bothered to vote every year or two, you don't deserve to complain about the results.

That's what "every year or two" meant. It's either every two years (even) or every year (both odd and even.)

Unrelated, really: I think having all sorts of weird propositions and lesser offices tangled up with what should be the most important Presidential vote is not wise. In addition to slowing voting down to a crawl, apparently, it adds so many opportunities for confusion, ballot shenanigans and turnout manipulation that I think it's not worth it.

Look at the way propositions, in particular, are used to skew the turnout. If holding down the gays gets people to show up, because it's so damn important to them, I think they should be willing to show up to vote on that and only that. But too often it seems deliberate and shallow, like all the gay marriage crap in 2004 being used to turn out the Republican crazy-base for Bush.

Maybe I am just too big a fan of keeping it simple. This is a Presidential election, in my mind, and the rest (yes, even the Senate and House parts) is noise that would better be handled on another day.

In the same way, this thread's not really about this, and so I guess we should save it for another place and time. I'll take half the blame for the derail.

We should be fired up and ready to go, not bickering over the schedule for firing, upping, readying and going.
posted by rokusan at 12:37 PM on November 4, 2008

Anybody who is opposed to gay marriage

You know, I got a robocall a couple nights ago for a candidate for State Senate, and within the first five seconds of the message, it proudly mentioned that she promises to vote to legalize gay marriage in New York. I was really impressed to hear that in a phone call, and to hear it at the top of the message.
posted by uncleozzy at 12:38 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

1. What is the bestest cheapest champagne?

These are mutually exclusive. The cheapest sparkling wine you can get is usually Andre, but trust me, pony up the extra couple of bucks and just get the Freixenet. It's not great, but it's not terrible and usually comes in at ~ $10/bottle. If you don't drink champagne much, Freixenet is fine.

2. How does one pop a cork like a world champion?

Make sure the bottle hasn't been agitated, and is very chilled. Leave it on a nice flat work surface like kitchen counter throughout the process. Untwist the little wire loop until you've loosened the little muzzle-looking thing known as the "cage" and can remove it. Then, remove the foil.

Gently, slowly, with a combination of back-and-forth twisting + pulling, remove the cork. Never use a corkscrew - it's dangerous. It should pop out nicely into your hand, and let out a little white vapor. If the wine spews out all foamy, you did it wrong.

If you are nervous about the cork popping and putting your eye out, put a dishtowel over the bottle and then remove the cork through the dishtowel.
posted by pineapple at 12:38 PM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

Ugh. These are my wife's parents (in Arizona too, no less). I can't WAIT until they visit next week!

2000 and 2004 were rough, but rubbing salt into wounds is no way to unite a country, or a family for that matter.
posted by clearly at 12:39 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Anybody who is opposed to gay marriage (Obama is) is going to have be called "center-right" in my playbook.

Obama on gay/lesbian issues.
posted by Astro Zombie at 12:39 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Yeah but a tax refund (welfare) for folks who don't pay (income) taxes? If that isn't left-center in the US then I don't know what is.

Besides & believe me I know this is irrelevant but Obama might be kind of churchy but I've seen him quoted as saying on gay marriage "I might be wrong". If that isn't lukewarm & maybe even code then...
posted by Wood at 12:39 PM on November 4, 2008

How does one pop a cork like a world champion?

With a motherfucking sword.
posted by enn at 12:35 PM on November 4

Wow, how cool would it be to have a celebratory Obama scar?
posted by Ugh at 12:40 PM on November 4, 2008

Also, all this champagne talk is making me nervous, because the other tabs of my browser are full of stories about Voting Machine Malfunctions in Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

Now what do those states have in common? :(
posted by rokusan at 12:40 PM on November 4, 2008

1. What is the bestest cheapest champagne?
2. How does one pop a cork like a world champion?

1. I'm far from a champagne connoisseur, but I usually go for this stuff. It's usually about ten or eleven bucks, and is pretty commonly available.

2. From what I understand, popping the cork up into the air is actually a faux pas among oenophiles. You're supposed to grasp the cork with a small cloth and twist it softly; it shouldn't pop at all. It's said (by the sort of people who say things like this) that it should sigh like a satisfied woman.

This is how I do it, but you may not give a shit what the oenophiles have to say on the matter. And that's perfectly legitimate too.
posted by greenie2600 at 12:42 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Perhaps we're going to see a "reverse Bradley Effect", as people enter the voting booths and find their better selves.

I've been saying this for a while. Most voters aren't racist. Many people of varying political stripes think that it would be a great step forward for the country to elect a black man to the presidency (or woman, or atheist, or homosexual, etc.)

I think (hope?) just as many people vote for him because of his race as vote against him because of it.

Who the hell remembers Maryland?

If Joe Biden weren't from're, it'd be Delaware.

So what format did everyone vote in? Touchscreen, punch-outs, huge lever machines?

I've had Scantron (fill in the arrows) or something like that in all my CA elections, back to 1992.

I actually did vote for a black Muslim today.

And I voted for an Arab-American.

As one of the few Nader/Gonzalez voters, I'm obviously rooting for Obama over McCain, but care a little more about the CA initiatives, particularly, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, and 9.

My polling place didn't give out stickers. Sadness.

Go to the police station at 17th/Valencia, and ask for mine. I hate those stickers.

Today is going to be a good day.

Correction: Today is going to be a GREAT day.

Karl Rove, the man widely credited with engineering President Bush's two successful White House bids, is predicting the Illinois senator will take the White House in an Electoral College landslide, winning 338 votes to John McCain's 200.

Uh, ya think? What a turd blossom.

My election day wishlist?

CA props 2 and 5 pass; props 4, 6, 8, and 9 fail.

Mitch McConnell goes down in Kentucky

That I could vote for Barack Obama 2nd or 3rd in a ranked-choice vote.

So, six months down the road, a year down the road, how will Barack Obama disappoint the Left?

By starting a nuclear war and/or continuing the policies of American military imperialism? That would probably be a big disappointment for me.

posted by mrgrimm at 12:42 PM on November 4, 2008

voting is better than sex.

TAKE THAT BACK!
posted by mrgrimm at 12:43 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

How does one pop a cork like a world champion?

Hold the cork firmly and slowly twist the bottle. Seriously. And do not *POP* the cork. Let the pressure and your firm grip ease it from the bottle with a nice hissssssssssss.
posted by Thorzdad at 12:43 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

...within the first five seconds of the message, it proudly mentioned that she promises to vote to legalize gay marriage in New York. I was really impressed to hear that in a phone call, and to hear it at the top of the message.

Um, are you sure that wasn't a robocall being produced by that candidate's opponents?

All robocalling, of any kind for any reason, should be illegal. What public-good purpose does it serve? They only seem to come up for elections and timeshare swindles.
posted by rokusan at 12:43 PM on November 4, 2008

Ugh. These are my wife's parents (in Arizona too, no less). I can't WAIT until they visit next week!

Big_B, don't be like that, please. They are your family, just like my aunt and uncle are my family, and that's why I'm not going to rub their faces in this if Obama wins either.

No matter who wins, someone's going to have lost, and their supporters are going to be upset -- and we're all still going to have to live in the same country, and so trying to actually unite as a country -- even with the people who had ridiculous ideas about the candidates -- is the only way we're going to get over some very, very big challenges we're all facing. It's a big tent, and we're all still going to be under it.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:45 PM on November 4, 2008 [6 favorites]

Yeah but a tax refund (welfare) for folks who don't pay (income) taxes? If that isn't left-center in the US then I don't know what is.

Why can't an income tax refund (which is a built mechanism) be a way to refund those who pay payroll taxes? How come no one talks about refunding those?
posted by ALongDecember at 12:46 PM on November 4, 2008

But I'm a bit sad, on today of all days, not to have anyone to share my excitement, hope and nervousness with.

You have us, triggerfinger. You have us.
posted by dersins at 12:47 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Um, are you sure that wasn't a robocall being produced by that candidate's opponents?

Good question. Given the tone of voice, I don't think so, but then again, I deleted it about 30 seconds in. So who knows. Robocalls should be illegal, I agree.
posted by uncleozzy at 12:47 PM on November 4, 2008

You're supposed to grasp the cork with a small cloth and twist it softly; it shouldn't pop at all.... it should sigh like a satisfied woman.

My women have always popped.

Must be doing it wrong....
posted by Floydd at 12:48 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Don't get me wrong monster, I agree 100% with everything you're sayingl. The electorate seems to be punching John McCain in the crotch for that.

I'd just don't want to see Rove get away without his fair share of crotch punching.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 12:50 PM on November 4, 2008

And do not *POP* the cork.

You're supposed to grasp the cork with a small cloth and twist it softly; it shouldn't pop at all.

It should pop out nicely into your hand

I am talking about popping the motherfucking cork over those mountains over there. If there is some champagne left to drink, even better.
posted by clearly at 12:50 PM on November 4, 2008 [11 favorites]

*yawn* morning yankee doodles, how's the day panning out thus far?
posted by nudar at 12:51 PM on November 4, 2008

When I satisfy a woman, she pops.
posted by Astro Zombie at 12:51 PM on November 4, 2008

I live in solid McCainLand. I voted by mail a few weeks ago, and I saved that little sticker. I kept it in my purse for three weeks, so I could put it on today. It says, "I VOTED EARLY."

I voted early for Barack Obama, the first truly inspiring figure in my lifetime, a moral authority of our age, a brilliant and good man.

I voted against Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who, in these parts, represents hatred and disrespect for the law, whose policies seem not to acknowledge the inherent dignity of humanity.

I voted against a state amendment making marriage solely between a man and a woman.

In this state, who knows if any of my votes matter. But I've got my sticker. I've got faith in those of you in less red states. I've got not hope, but pride.

It's good to be in America.
posted by Ms. Saint at 12:52 PM on November 4, 2008 [4 favorites]

CitrusFreak7b must be very proud.
posted by Mister_A at 12:52 PM on November 4, 2008

how's the day panning out thus far?

Live ticker update.
posted by rokusan at 12:53 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Got to the polling station at 6 this morning in New Orleans, and waited in line an hour and a half after they opened. And folks, people like to sleep in around here.

They were blasting brass music across the street at City Hall a little while ago, but that may have just been for the hell of it.
posted by gordie at 12:53 PM on November 4, 2008

When I satisfy a woman, she pops.

Awwww, get one that isn't inflatable next time.
posted by jessamyn at 12:55 PM on November 4, 2008 [58 favorites]

I voted last month via Absentee Ballot.

When do they mail my coffee and donuts?
posted by Fuzzy Monster at 12:55 PM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

well just to throw my two cents in before all is said and done, i just voted in new castle NH and there were like about 50 times more people outside holding signs than inside voting (i'm not kidding, there were like 50 people outside, and i was the only voter inside), but new castle is always creepy that way. oh lord here's hoping.
posted by Soulbee at 12:55 PM on November 4, 2008

Voting - it’s like a pap smear. In a good way.

“If McCain wins I hope he stays very very healthy, and that he goes all maverick on the republicans.”

Hell, man, electrostimulate his dead tissue. Make him a golem.
But he’s not going to win. I suspect it’s going to be pretty one sided.
posted by Smedleyman at 12:55 PM on November 4, 2008

>a moral authority of our age

?
posted by troy at 12:56 PM on November 4, 2008

I voted at eight this morning. The lines from 6am had cleared, but the poll workers were still a bit dazed. They were talking about how many people had been there, and they came to agree that it was about a hundred and fifty.

I proved who I was, and took the ballot and my carefully-researched sample ballot to the little booth, and I filled out the little bubbles with the marker, careful to stay inside the lines.

One of the bubbles I filled out, this being Arizona, was to keep the state constitution from being amended to define marriage as being between a man and a woman. Never mind that there are already laws to that effect in place. Never mind the humanity of the people that this measure disenfranchises. Never mind that I was already married once, here, for seven years, and that we were married before family and friends, and that it was as real a marriage, while it lasted, as any other. Gay people are scary enough, apparently, that some believe that discrimination against us should be written into the state's constitution.

I voted against the amendment, and wondered why I wasn't mad that such a thing had made it onto the ballot, and that it has a good chance of passing. Then I looked at who I'd voted for for President. And suddenly the anti-gay amendment seemed like the last dying gasp of a race of dinosaurs, trying desperately to retain their relevance. It seemed like a futile attempt to sow fear and pain to keep themselves in power. A desperate plea to our inner demons.

I can envision the day when a ballot item like this will seem laughably ludicrous. When no-one will be ignorant or fearful enough to even allow it to get near a ballot. When the idea that everyone should have the same rights seems stunningly obvious, to almost everyone.

This is what hope feels like.

Thank you, Senator Obama. Good luck. Please win.
posted by MrVisible at 12:57 PM on November 4, 2008 [6 favorites]

I voted in seventeen different races and on five judicial retention questions today. Should I be required to cast those votes on twenty-two different days, just to prove my devotion to democracy to you? I don't think so.

Agreed. Vote Yes on Proposition F in San Francisco (to eliminate odd-year elections). It would increase voter turnout for local offices and save the city $millions.

The only argument against is that it's too confusing to choose local offices at the same time as the national election. C'mon.

What is the bestest cheapest champagne?

What's your algorithm? J. Roget still goes for about $2, I think. Then comes Andre.
posted by mrgrimm at 12:57 PM on November 4, 2008

I mentioned upthread that my daughter is a first-time voter today. Well, we just got back from the polls. No lines, but business was brisker than I've ever seen it. It's also the first time I've seen a sizable presence of voters my daughter's age, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, looking happy and hopeful.

I almost cried as we were walking out, but I held it together so as not to get the "Oh geez, mom" eyeroll. I waited until we were down the sidewalk and then I let out a "Yay!" and, to my surprise, my daughter "Yay-ed" too. I'm so excited for the returns to come in, my stomach is doing somersaults.
posted by amyms at 12:59 PM on November 4, 2008 [6 favorites]

What is the bestest cheapest champagne?

A more serious answer: My wife and I both like Gruet. ~$13 for a pretty good Blanc de Noirs.
posted by mrgrimm at 1:00 PM on November 4, 2008

I was responding to garlic's complaint that he couldn't be bothered to vote in odd years.

That's not how I interpreted his comment. He wrote: "I suck. I forget about it. I hear about it last minute and don't research the candidates by voting day." "Not bothering about it" would be being aware of it yet choosing not to vote. That's not what garlic is doing. It's unfortunate that he forgets, or hears about it late (and frankly, if one doesn't have time to research the candidates, not voting is the responsible thing to do), but it's not the same as "not bothering," and not grounds for "the sky is falling" (or rather "Country. Broken.") type hyperbole.

I think having all sorts of weird propositions and lesser offices tangled up with what should be the most important Presidential vote is not wise. In addition to slowing voting down to a crawl, apparently, it adds so many opportunities for confusion, ballot shenanigans and turnout manipulation that I think it's not worth it.

I'll grant you "slows down voting." Still, I'd rather wait in line for two hours once every two years than have to go to the polls multiple times per year. And I see your point about ballot propositions—I suppose I hadn't fully considered those since they're rare in Indiana. But I don't agree that the same exists with other races on the same ballot (at least, not to an extent significant enough to justify separating the elections), nor do I see how voting on other races on the same ballot is likely to increase confusion or "ballot shenanigans."

This is a Presidential election, in my mind, and the rest (yes, even the Senate and House parts) is noise that would better be handled on another day.

Well, if the argument is "President is much more important than Governor, so voting for President should be on a different day than voting for Governor" you equally have "Governor is much more important than State Representative," "State Representative is much more important than County Auditor," and so forth. Add a few more iterations and I'm back to having to vote on twenty-two separate days.

In the same way, this thread's not really about this, and so I guess we should save it for another place and time. I'll take half the blame for the derail.

Sheesh, this isn't AskMe. Discussions go off on tangents all the time in the blue, and this thread isn't sacred. I'll take half the responsibility for this topic being here, but it's not out of place.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 1:00 PM on November 4, 2008

I voted in a small town in Northern Wisconsin, we have a single touch screen voting machine (with a paper trail) as well as paper ballots if the machine goes down or if you just don't trust it. My sticker says "I voted" and there is a little American flag.

Race hasn't been a consideration for me at any point in this election but after I stepped about from the booth I got a little chill down my spine as I realized I just voted for a black man for President. It made me think there might be some hope for us after all.
posted by Bonzai at 1:01 PM on November 4, 2008

Any polling place horror stories thus far? Nothing I can find on any news sites, and I won't be near a TV tonight until they're about ready to call this thing. I only ask because, as a first-hand witness/participant to one of the worst in 2004, I'd hate to think that anyone out there is going through something even half as bad.
posted by SpiffyRob at 1:02 PM on November 4, 2008

If you don't see why I'd call Obama a moral authority, go and listen to two of his speeches: the one he gave on race and the one he gave on religion. Even if you watched them before, go back to them. Those are speeches from a person who knows what counts as right, who has the eloquence to present his view, and who has the strength of character to stand by it.

Obama is a good man, and he has chosen a public life. Even if somehow he loses this election, he will still be a giant figure in American life, and he will still be a moral compass that leads the nation.
posted by Ms. Saint at 1:05 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

What's all this fuss I hear about a "presidential erection"?

Never mind.
posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 1:05 PM on November 4, 2008

Awwww, get one that isn't inflatable next time.

Daaaaaaammmmmmn.
posted by Astro Zombie at 1:06 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

What's all this fuss I hear about a "presidential erection"?

Kim Jong Il is running unopposed.
posted by rokusan at 1:08 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

She then ignored all the exit signs and walked into a closet.

Kinda like George W. on the afternoon of January 20, 2009, as he "leaves" the Oval Office for good.
posted by ericb at 1:09 PM on November 4, 2008

What was your alleged advantage of having spread-out elections?

If I can chime in for a moment, there are several good reasons for spreading elections out. One is information overload. I've heard many local politicians complain about having to run in the same year as a national presidential election because no one pays attention to them. When someone runs for mayor in an off year, the focus of the election is on the mayor, an important choice, and the people who show up to vote are the ones who actually care about who becomes mayor. Many people only vote in national presidential elections and have no idea what is going on with the rest of the ballot, and that can throw things off quite a bit. Heck, even I'm a little less aware of my local politicians this year than usual.

Another reason is that some elections need to be had more than once every two years. Specifically, this tends to be for levies or other local issues. In addition, there's often the needs for special elections for emergency measures or the replacement of suddenly vacant positions. Not everything can wait for a schedule.

This does result in embarrassingly low turn-out for non-national elections in the off years, but the advantage is that some items are voted for in a timely manner and that the people who show up to vote are the ones who really care about the subject. In a way, this is all for the better since your local officials and issues have more of a direct impact on your life than the national ones.

So, yeah, its a pain in the but and makes things more complicated. But there are reasons, and going with a standardized two year ticket will be trading off the above benefits for convenience. It's not black and white, but since election details tend to be determined at a local level, it makes sense that they follow the path that benefits them them most.
posted by cimbrog at 1:09 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

What's all this fuss I hear about a "presidential erection"?

Aren't we done with the clinton references yet?
posted by qvantamon at 1:11 PM on November 4, 2008

Discussions go off on tangents all the time in the blue, and this thread isn't sacred. I'll take half the responsibility for this topic being here, but it's not out of place.

I want this to be a happy thread, is all I meant, and I know at least for myself, if I go off ranting about the pathetic voter turnout in the USA (even in this, which will be a "record" year I am sure), it'll just be off-key for today. I feel petty griping about it today. Bigger fish.
posted by rokusan at 1:12 PM on November 4, 2008

My polling place is at the fairgrounds in Southern Maryland, about 40 minutes from Washington, D.C. This used to be tobacco country, but is slowly being developed, or other crops are grown. We waited until 10:00 to vote, to avoid the lines. When we got there a 97-year-old Black man was being wheeled out of the polls in his wheelchair. It was the first time he had ever voted in his life. When he came outside he asked if anyone could give him an Obama button. There were none left at the Democrat's booth so I gave him mine. He was so proud and I started crying. He looked at me and said, "why are you crying? this is a day for glory." I am still crying.
posted by Astro Zombie at 1:13 PM on November 4, 2008 [17 favorites]

Also, all this champagne talk is making me nervous, because the other tabs of my browser are full of stories about Voting Machine Malfunctions in Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

Now what do those states have in common?

Oooh, I know this one! Obama still wins even without winning any of those states.

(Seriously. Take the current electoral-vote.com projection, take away FL OH PA VA, and Obama still has 272 EVs.)
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 1:13 PM on November 4, 2008

I'm so done with this election.

The real story is 2012.
posted by Bobby Bittman at 1:14 PM on November 4, 2008

Speaking of voting - Obama voted in Chicago early this morning. He was already on a plane to Indiana for a rally before most people got to work.
He was back at Midway before noon (I forgot exactly when he landed). He’s getting ready for Grant park later, he’ll speak there, and he’ll probably be up all night.

Y’know... it’s nice to see a guy you want to work for you busting his ass and bringing a little hustle to the job for a change.
posted by Smedleyman at 1:15 PM on November 4, 2008

Anyone looking at Twitter.com/866OURVOTE who doesn't feel nervous, clearly has forgotten 2000.
posted by pineapple at 1:17 PM on November 4, 2008

the advantage is that some items are voted for in a timely manner and that the people who show up to vote are the ones who really care about the subject

This argument is like asking Congress to pick the president. Saves time, and everybody really cares who wins.
posted by mrgrimm at 1:17 PM on November 4, 2008

Holy crap, this is the Ben Hur of metafilter threads.
posted by hellojed at 1:17 PM on November 4, 2008

So, this appears to be the only political thread I ca find on the Internet where everyone is merely half-crazed as opposed to full-tilt shit-yer-pants nutso. So, here I remain. But as someone said upthread, I sure could use a fact.
posted by Bookhouse at 1:17 PM on November 4, 2008

Here in Somerville, MA, there was a hella stupid Proposition 5 question. It proposed to replace the state legislature with a council of 100 citizens (appointed at random for 1 year - nonvoting membership for the first 6 months - new member joins every Tuesday and Friday) because that makes much more sense then an elected legislature.

Dude, you know how hard I'd have to have voted on MA Proposition 2 to think that was a good idea?
posted by robocop is bleeding at 1:18 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Dunno if I'll be able to get to the polls on time, but I don't think my candidates for the national stage will do too poorly, three solid irishmen: Jack Reed, Patches Kennedy and Barry O'bama.

The state and local incumbents are a bunch of corrupt, rotten miscreants, and what's worse, they're also incompetent. The problem is, they're mostly opposed by neocon talk-radio mouthbreathers who want to outlaw taxes and poor people. Chaffee for Governor in 2010.

There are some statewide questions on the ballot to fund transportation and open space initiatives, and I'll vote for those, and some nutty stuff on the local level I'll vote against.

If I can get out of work in time to vote...
posted by Slap*Happy at 1:18 PM on November 4, 2008

Crazy foreigners!
posted by mazola at 1:18 PM on November 4, 2008

"can find", dammit.
posted by Bookhouse at 1:18 PM on November 4, 2008

I voted this morning at 10 am. Very heavy turnout for rural Pennsylvania. I hope Obama wins. I hope he governs half as well as he campaigns. I haven't felt this way about an election since Kennedy was shot.
posted by RussHy at 1:19 PM on November 4, 2008

I'm so excited I have to hold myself back from promising to do something rash when Obama wins.
posted by orange swan at 1:19 PM on November 4, 2008

Race hasn't been a consideration for me at any point in this election but after I stepped about from the booth I got a little chill down my spine as I realized I just voted for a black man for President. It made me think there might be some hope for us after all.

Wha?! You didn't vote for Joan Jett Blakk?
posted by mrgrimm at 1:19 PM on November 4, 2008

Here in Somerville, MA, there was a hella stupid Proposition 5 question. It proposed to replace the state legislature with a council of 100 citizens (appointed at random for 1 year - nonvoting membership for the first 6 months - new member joins every Tuesday and Friday) because that makes much more sense then an elected legislature.

Dude, like... totally awesome man.


I'm seeing Green-Rainbows everywhere.
posted by geos at 1:20 PM on November 4, 2008

Holy crap, this is the Ben Hur of metafilter threads.

Tell me about it -- I just looked at my "recent activity" and saw all the entires for this particular thread, and this thread alone, were all listed double and in weird fonts and such.

WE BROKE THE BLUE!
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:20 PM on November 4, 2008

When part of my family said "If McCain wins, I'm leaving the country" I understood they were exaggerating, but could imagine them finding comfort in a country like Canada.

When a different part of my family said "If Obama wins, I'm leaving the country" I understood they were exaggerating, but wondered "Where for? Iran?"

Anyone know a popular "alternate country to live in" for right wingers who can't stand to live in a Socialist Obama led USA?
posted by jermsplan at 1:20 PM on November 4, 2008

Any polling place horror stories thus far?

Voting obstacles plague Va., Pa.

"Voters are reporting major obstacles to casting their ballot in polling locations across Virginia and Pennsylvania, which could disenfranchise thousands of voters in each state.

Long lines, broken voting machines, ballot shortages and misused absentee ballots are just some of the problems that threaten voting. [more]

posted by ericb at 1:21 PM on November 4, 2008

You know what would be funny? If Obama fell just short of 269 votes, but won anyway because FL and OH were mistakenly stolen for George Bush.
posted by qvantamon at 1:21 PM on November 4, 2008 [5 favorites]

This argument is like asking Congress to pick the president. Saves time, and everybody really cares who wins.

Actually, with your example not everyone who cares would be taking part. Also, I wasn't talking about saving time I was talking about issues that need voting on in the spaces between the hypothetical two year elections. Sorry if I wasn't clear.
posted by cimbrog at 1:21 PM on November 4, 2008

Tim Robbins' Polling Place Nightmare: He's Turned Away After Having Voted at Same Polling Place for More than a Decade.
posted by ericb at 1:23 PM on November 4, 2008

So, this appears to be the only political thread I ca find on the Internet where everyone is merely half-crazed as opposed to full-tilt shit-yer-pants nutso. So, here I remain. But as someone said upthread, I sure could use a fact.

Here are the facts.
posted by mrgrimm at 1:23 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Someone told my mom at work Obama is planning to have a "red armband secret police." For real. "[She] heard it in one of his speeches!"

But if they wear red arm bands they aren't secret, are they.
posted by tkchrist at 1:23 PM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

Anyone know a popular "alternate country to live in" for right wingers who can't stand to live in a Socialist Obama led USA?

Argentina.
posted by tkchrist at 1:25 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

I dropped my kids off this morning, then went and stood in line to vote at the church where I always vote. The line was very long for my precinct: one person. Usually I don't have to wait at all. The persons running the show have always done a great job, and the lack of waiting is a reflection of the number of booths they're running and the workers' efficiencies; there are always crowded, they're just moved in and out quickly.

It's probably helped by the use of marker ballots instead of touch-screen voting or punch cards, as they're very easy to use and it's easy to validate that you've done a good job marking things up even before pulling the card out.

Reading all these reports of voting troubles around the country, it makes me want to ship our local folks out to teach people a thing or two about how to go about this process. Certainly, it makes me feel like I live in a parallel universe where voting is easy.

On a related note, in Reseda CA today my coworkers' father-in-law reports that when he went to vote, they were splitting people up in different lines between registered democrats, registered republicans, and independents -- I'm pretty such this is illegal. Evidentally the line for the registered democrat side was (is?) long and slow, while the registered republican line had only four people in it, who were being booed. This is bad for everyone regardless of political affilication.

How is it possible to screw things up so badly? It boggles the mind.
posted by davejay at 1:25 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Anyone know a popular "alternate country to live in" for right wingers who can't stand to live in a Socialist Obama led USA?

I'm thinkin' the Republic of Gilead.
posted by fleetmouse at 1:26 PM on November 4, 2008

Damn. That Fired Up video is hype.
posted by chunking express at 1:26 PM on November 4, 2008 [6 favorites]

...it’s nice to see a guy you want to work for you busting his ass and bringing a little hustle to the job for a change.

And the polar opposite (past and present) -- Bush Out of Site, Out of Mind

"The quietest place in Washington today may have been the White House itself.

The president voted absentee several days ago, so there was no video of him at his precinct, no statements to reporters, no public appearance whatsoever.

Bush planned to spend his evening in the White House residence, watching TV coverage of election results and hosting a small dinner with his wife.

There was sure to be at least some celebrating — today is the first lady's birthday. Otherwise, it was a day when the White House purposely went dark."

posted by ericb at 1:27 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Y’know... it’s nice to see a guy you want to work for you busting his ass and bringing a little hustle to the job for a change.

Oh, I don't know. I'd argue that the top names of the Grand Old Party have been bringing a little hustle to the job for quite a while.
posted by pineapple at 1:27 PM on November 4, 2008

Anyone know a popular "alternate country to live in" for right wingers who can't stand to live in a Socialist Obama led USA?

My daughter lives in Georgia. Last week her boss said if Obama wins she (the boss) will have to leave the country. She mentioned New Zealand. Is there a right wing in New Zealand?
posted by RussHy at 1:29 PM on November 4, 2008

EmpressCallipygos They are your family, just like my aunt and uncle are my family, and that's why I'm not going to rub their faces in this if Obama wins either.

Yeah, I didn't mean I was going to rub it in their face. I am sure they will be the ones bringing it up, and we will just do our best to correct their misconceptions (which we have been trying to do for weeks).

No matter who wins, someone's going to have lost, and their supporters are going to be upset -- and we're all still going to have to live in the same country, and so trying to actually unite as a country -- even with the people who had ridiculous ideas about the candidates -- is the only way we're going to get over some very, very big challenges we're all facing. It's a big tent, and we're all still going to be under it.

Repeated because you have a very good point.
posted by Big_B at 1:29 PM on November 4, 2008

I sure could use a fact.

The human head weighs eight pounds.

Bees and dogs can smell fear.
posted by pineapple at 1:30 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

My amusing anecdote from Canada:

On the way home from work here in Ottawa, I stopped at the local Wine Rack to pick up a few bottles of wine. I'm at the cash paying for my purchase when the woman behind the counter asks:

"Are you having an election party too?"

"Sort of." (I plan on watching, and partying, just alone)

"Gosh, so many people have come in today to buy for their election watching. You'd think it was OUR election!"
posted by aclevername at 1:32 PM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

I've never watched a presidential election from outside the US before. You know who has good coverage? France24. It makes me wish I were in Paris watching it.
posted by chuckdarwin at 1:33 PM on November 4, 2008

Is there a right wing in New Zealand?

In Mordor, yeah.
posted by dersins at 1:33 PM on November 4, 2008 [7 favorites]

Bodes well for Ohio watchers: Obama won the Busken Bakery cookie poll in Cincinnati by a crumbslide.
posted by tizzie at 1:34 PM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

Gosh, so many people have come in today to buy for their election watching. You'd think it was OUR election!"

Heh. Unchangeable plans tonight or we'd be doing the same thing.

Go kick some ass, peeps.
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 1:37 PM on November 4, 2008

Now what do those states have in common?
Oooh, I know this one! Obama still wins even without winning any of those states.

I hope you're right, DA, and it's just a nasty looking coincidence.
posted by rokusan at 1:37 PM on November 4, 2008

1. What is the bestest cheapest champagne?

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and suggest Törley, a really great Hungarian sparkling wine which, at $10, is much better than any comparably-priced French sparkling wine or champagne, IMO.
posted by ten pounds of inedita at 1:38 PM on November 4, 2008 [4 favorites]

Had an argument with an IT guy who had lots of good ideas about how to have better touch screen voting. No, I told him; paper ballots with markers, ala Scantron bubbles or arrows. Simple, cheap, easy to fix, hard to steal, easy to recount.

That's how I used to vote, and it was great, and quick, and I didn't worry about it. Now it's all magic electric pixels, that *tell* me they're counted, but how would I know if they weren't? They don't need to pull me off the rolls if they can just erase my vote.

I want to be hopeful, because stealing this election would be so obvious as to lead to some kind of true civil unrest; if not immediately, then when McCain took office and after. It might break our country, for good, so I have a small amount of hope that there are enough election officials who *don't* want that to not try for it. If only because they have not totally lost their minds.

The fact that there are still attempts to block voting by other means implies to me that there is no widespread digital vote-hacking planned, or why bother, but what do I know? Bush has reset all my assumptions about the depths to which Republicans will stoop. So I hope, and I wait, because without a regime change we'll never be able to fix any of it.
posted by emjaybee at 1:38 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

So, I've been reading Hunter S. Thomson's Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72. It' freaky, because a few names from today make an appearance (Buchanan, George Romney, etc) and somewhere in there he talks about the age old problem of voting for the lesser of two evils:

The argument was familiar. I had even made it myself, here and there, but I was beginning to sense something very depressing about it. How many more of these goddamn elections are we going to have to write off as lame but "regrettably necessary" holding actions? And how many more of these stinking, double-downer sideshows will we have to go through before we can get ourselves straight enough to put together some kind of national election that will give me and the at least 20 million people I tend to agree with a chance to vote FOR something, instead of always being faced with that old familiar choice between the lesser of two evils?

I have been through three presidential elections, now, but it has been twelve years since I could look at a ballot and see a name I wanted to vote FOR. In 1964 I refused to vote at all, and in '68 I spent half a morning in the country courthouse getting an absentee ballot so I could vote, out of spite, for Dick Gregory.

Now, with another one of these big bogus showdowns looming down on us, I can already pick up the stench of another bummer. I understand, along with a lot of other people, that the big thing this year is Beating Nixon. but that was also the big thing, as I recall, twelve years ago in 1960--And as far as I can tell, we've gone from bad to worse to rotten since then, and the outlook is for more of the same.

What times we lived in.
posted by hellojed at 1:39 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Anyone know a popular "alternate country to live in" for right wingers who can't stand to live in a Socialist Obama led USA?

Ireland, maybe? Abortion illegal except where the life of the mother is at risk; an 11% corporate tax rate which McCain spoke highly of during the campaign.

Oh, wait. Ireland has universal health care, so I guess it's socialist too.

If Ireland, apparently an economic role model per McCain's statements, can have universal health care, why can't the US?
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 1:40 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

I stopped at the local Wine Rack to pick up a few bottles of wine... I plan on watching, and partying, just alone.

A few bottles? Alone?

I think you need some help with that. Six hundred people in blue will be right over.
posted by rokusan at 1:40 PM on November 4, 2008

Anyone know a popular "alternate country to live in" for right wingers who can't stand to live in a Socialist Obama led USA?

Half of Mexico. But beware the other half: they have machetes and they're pissed.
posted by rokusan at 1:41 PM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

Back before the primary, I was canvassing in the Republican, lawn-decorationy part of town. A woman asked me, somewhat aggressively, whether the story was true: did this Obama guy take his oath on the Koran? I told her no, he was sworn in on his family bible; actually he has never been a Muslim and he has been a Christian for many years.

Today I canvassed the same area. That lady voted for Barack Obama today.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 1:42 PM on November 4, 2008 [21 favorites]

I sure could use a fact.

Liberals and conservatives are roughly equally closed-minded in dealing with dissonant real-world evidence. Also, conservatives aren't (the only) humorless dogmatists.
posted by daniel_charms at 1:43 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

this is going to be a good day.
posted by exlotuseater at 1:46 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

On a related note, in Reseda CA today my coworkers' father-in-law reports that when he went to vote, they were splitting people up in different lines between registered democrats, registered republicans, and independents -- I'm pretty such this is illegal. Evidentally the line for the registered democrat side was (is?) long and slow, while the registered republican line had only four people in it, who were being booed.

Did they report it this to the board of elections? This certainly isn't legal.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:46 PM on November 4, 2008

My daughter lives in Georgia. Last week her boss said if Obama wins she (the boss) will have to leave the country. She mentioned New Zealand. Is there a right wing in New Zealand?

With the possible exception of Australia, you would be hard pressed to find any first-world nation that is as crazy right-wing as the USA. What passes for "center" in the USA is right-wing in most of the developed world. What passes for "right wing" in the USA is nutbar extremism elsewhere.

New Zealand however, does feature proportional representation, which means you can vote for a nutbar extremist party and your vote isn't wasted - even if that party loses badly and comes fifth (or whatever), it will still get seats allocated to it proportional to the number of people nationwide who want that party to represent them, and then the other parties might have to consult with it and take some of its views and proposals into consideration in order to get the parliamentary votes they need on various issues.

But if the boss wants a right-wing home away from home, Australia is a much better bet than New Zealand.
posted by -harlequin- at 1:48 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Yeah, I didn't mean I was going to rub it in their face. I am sure they will be the ones bringing it up, and we will just do our best to correct their misconceptions (which we have been trying to do for weeks).

Gotcha. Sorry I misread you, then. (My mother's avoiding my aunt is more just about waiting until the election's over and they can finally go back to talking about my cousin's two-year-old daughter and how cute her Halloween costume was, stuff like that.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:48 PM on November 4, 2008

Japan has a strong right wing. But there's a problem with being a foreigner in a country with a strong right wing...
posted by Quonab at 1:50 PM on November 4, 2008 [18 favorites]

I love voting on election day. It was a big party at the polling place at the high school. The Historical Society has a bake sale, the school choir was selling cds and promoting a concert. Police chief hanging out, candidates outside respectfully introducing themselves. A couple of special interest groups were getting signatures on petitions.

I picked up a neighbor, hitching into town, and hijacked him to the polls, with a promise of a ride the rest of the way into town. I walked my dog while he corrected his voter registration (Maine has same-day voter reg) and met several dog lovers.

I've never seen such happy voters and poll workers. They told me it was really busy 1st thing, with a line waiting cheerfully. A news crew was arriving as I left.

Voting is a way for me to meet my neighbors and elected officials, and connect with people. As well as affecting national, state and local elections. It made me really happy to vote today, and I can't wait to start hearing returns.
posted by theora55 at 1:51 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

I voted AND I got a free vibrator!
posted by rmless at 1:53 PM on November 4, 2008 [6 favorites]

Well I, for one, welcome our former right wing nutjob overlords to not let the door slam them on the ass on the way out. May they find a fascist paradise in Paraguay or wherever.
posted by RussHy at 1:53 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

"Is there a right wing in New Zealand?"

Socially, the dominant party right of our centre is about as right wing as the US Democrats. Economically they are fervent free trade advocates and monetarists.

On another note, for the last few years I've been hearing quite a bit of anti-American sentiment here, based on the Bush re-election. Whenever I have encountered it, I have thought about the Mefites and their aggregate thoughtfulness, and scolded people who caricatured stupid Americans, because I knew that actually there is a vast reservoir of marvellous Americans, and if they were not in the ascendant, it was because they were not deployed in the right places and the right times. It sounds very much as though now you are, and I have my fingers crossed for you all. Yes, you can.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 1:55 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

In MO, write-in candidates must be certified or they are not counted.
posted by schyler523 at 1:55 PM on November 4, 2008

I voted AND I got a free vibrator!

I feel like someone should be saying "God Bless America" after this.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:55 PM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

-harelquin- But if the boss wants a right-wing home away from home, Australia is a much better bet than New Zealand.

Repeated for truth.
posted by vac2003 at 1:56 PM on November 4, 2008

With the possible exception of Australia, you would be hard pressed to find any first-world nation that is as crazy right-wing as the USA. What passes for "center" in the USA is right-wing in most of the developed world. What passes for "right wing" in the USA is nutbar extremism elsewhere.

Conservatives fleeing the U.S. would probably like Saudi Arabia.
posted by delmoi at 1:56 PM on November 4, 2008

Whenever I have encountered it, I have thought about the Mefites and their aggregate thoughtfulness, and scolded people who caricatured stupid Americans, because I knew that actually there is a vast reservoir of marvellous Americans

To be fair, though, many of us aren't housebroken.
posted by COBRA! at 1:57 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

I woke up happy this morning. Does anyone else have the feeling that we've already won?
posted by twirlypen at 1:58 PM on November 4, 2008

Fascist paradise in Paraguay. Or whatever.
posted by rokusan at 1:58 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

1 hour. Midnight here. Time for first drinks. It is going to be a long night, but I want to be awake to feel it when the wave of joy and relief pours over the world.
posted by Free word order! at 1:59 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Live ticker update.
posted by rokusan at 3:53 PM on November 4

That NY Times ticker is fascinating if you switch to the McCain supporters tab.
posted by Pastabagel at 2:00 PM on November 4, 2008

Conservatives fleeing the U.S. would probably like Saudi Arabia.

Oh, the irony!
posted by rokusan at 2:02 PM on November 4, 2008

Liberals and conservatives are roughly equally closed-minded in dealing with dissonant real-world evidence.

According to this study, it may be because gut fearfulness holds the trumps. (Your level of simple gut fearfulness doesn't change all that easily).
posted by -harlequin- at 2:02 PM on November 4, 2008

OH SHIT I AM IN THE SITUATION ROOM AND IT IS HELLA RAW
posted by robocop is bleeding at 2:03 PM on November 4, 2008 [5 favorites]

I voted this morning on lower Capitol Hill in Seattle. I got to my polling place at about 20 after 7. There were a couple dozen people in line-- more than I'd ever seen, but not that many more. The line moved briskly.

Once I got into the room where the actual voting was taking place, I saw reason for the line's brisk movement. Every single piece of available flat space had been given over to voting. Our county uses Scantron ballots, and there were a dozen or so little stand-up voting kiosks, but at least half the people present were filling out their ballots on a covered pool table, or on top of a piano, or against the walls.

Our state's blue as Billie Holliday, so I don't think my vote's going to matter much in the presidential election, but damn, it still felt good. (And voting for EVERY SINGLE BOND LEVY didn't feel too bad either.)

Now I've just got to find a way to stop furtively reloading political sites and actually do my work, at least for a couple more hours.
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 2:03 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

She can move to pretty much any Eastern European country. Nearly all have strong right-wing governments and people around here just love English speakers (although they generally tend to hate foreigners).
posted by daniel_charms at 2:03 PM on November 4, 2008

I early voted, but took my son to vote today. We went to the church where he voted in the primary and there were 2 people there to direct voters to another larger church across the street. We went there and he wasn't on their rolls, so we were directed to the "help desk" where they looked him up on a laptop and told us he was supposed to vote in another precinct about 3 miles away. When we got to the 3rd precinct (all 3 Baptist churches, funnily enough) they found on him their rolls and gave him his ballot (scantron).

None of the polling precincts had any sort of line, less than 10 voters in either place. When I voted at the library October 21st, I walked in, voted and left in less than 10 minutes. Matt took longer, but it was his first time voting in a general election so he was extra careful.
posted by hollygoheavy at 2:04 PM on November 4, 2008

She mentioned New Zealand. Is there a right wing in New Zealand?

Who cares? Who doesn't want to live in New Zealand? Amazingly beautiful + Murray.

I agree that Australia might be a choice. But they have compulsory voting and IRV. Commies!
posted by mrgrimm at 2:05 PM on November 4, 2008

Live ticker update.
posted by rokusan at 3:53 PM on November 4

That NY Times ticker is fascinating if you switch to the McCain supporters tab.

I think that's pretty much the right-wing's mindset all the time. That's why they are the way they are...
posted by Windopaene at 2:06 PM on November 4, 2008

Ah, screw it. I voted at lunch time, and I'm having a blast. GOBAMA!
posted by Pastabagel at 2:07 PM on November 4, 2008

I voted for the first time. This election season finally shocked me out of apathy, and it seems I'm hardly alone there. Got a lot of volunteering ahead, to make up for the years I sat by watching -- looking forward to every bit of it.
posted by jake at 2:07 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Folks, I bring you an endorsement to remember.
posted by jadepearl at 2:10 PM on November 4, 2008

What Will We Know By 7 PM?

From the full paper: "The only interesting possibility is if McCain sweeps [Virginia, Indiana, and Georgia]: then it is a contest, and we would then give him an even chance of pulling it out."
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 2:10 PM on November 4, 2008

Someone upthread said that they will not be rubbing any democratic win in a republican loved one's face. I am not normally the sort to do so, but once the polls are closed in PA and (fingers crossed) returns are looking favorable for That One, I am going to text my father in law and basically blow a big wet virtual raspberry in his face.
The other day, he had the unmitigated gall to draw a very nasty connection between feminists and liberals, implying that both were wrongheaded and ignorant. At the time I called him old and narrow minded. Tonight I am going to call him on the wrong side of history.
He has it coming, trust me.
posted by msali at 2:11 PM on November 4, 2008

IN DURING THE REVOLUTION
posted by Grimp0teuthis at 2:11 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

She mentioned New Zealand. Is there a right wing in New Zealand?

Kiwis need a right wing, otherwise they just flap round in circles.
posted by Sparx at 2:12 PM on November 4, 2008 [15 favorites]

palmcorder_yajna: "Our county uses Scantron ballots, and there were a dozen or so little stand-up voting kiosks, but at least half the people present were filling out their ballots on a covered pool table, or on top of a piano..."

Yup, we had the top-of-a-piano voters at my polling station, too.
posted by The corpse in the library at 2:12 PM on November 4, 2008

My daughter lives in Georgia. Last week her boss said if Obama wins she (the boss) will have to leave the country. She mentioned New Zealand. Is there a right wing in New Zealand?

Sure:

A covert tape of the National Party deputy leader caught him criticising the Democrat presidential candidate and talking of the need for someone "willing to pull the trigger" in what appears to be a preference for outgoing president George W Bush's approach.

"...Bush should have put a different window, a different window dressing - there still needs [to be] someone willing to pull the trigger."

(source)

Of course, there are civil unions for gay and straight couples who want them, discrimination on basis of sexual orientation is illegal, religion is generally a non-issue in politics (except for a few headline issues, like all the church groups who urned out to oppose banning thumping your kids), even the most right-wing government during my lifetime didn't remove the welfare state, just slash welfare payments and so on. At-will style employment policies don't exist. The police don't routinely carry guns. You need a firearms license to have firearms of your own, and it's extremely difficult for a private citizen to own handguns at all.

Four weeks is the mandatory minimum leave for employees, with a minimum of 5 days for sick leave on top of that. Public holidays don't come out of general leave entitlements. There's publicly funded medicine. My daughter goes to the doctor free. My wife's healthcare during her pregnancy was free. I get subsised healthcare paid out of general taxation. When I broke my arm and couldn't work I was covered for up to ~60k p/a for the period I couldn't work, out of the mandatory accident coverage system. Most of these things are not being lined up for any change by the likely incoming rightwing government, although I suspect what they will do and what they say they will do are quite different things.

I always laugh when the MeFi hysterical persecuted right-wing brigade whine about how left-wing MeFi is. If they came to New Zealand or Australia they'd probably die of an anyeurism.
posted by rodgerd at 2:12 PM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

AAAAAAAAAAARRRGHHHHHHHH IT'S FUCKING KILLING ME.

DECAF? I'M DRINKING MILK, DAMNIT. NO COFFEE TODAY, THANK YOU.
posted by loquacious at 2:13 PM on November 4, 2008

Kiwis need a right wing, otherwise they just flap round in circles.

That's basically what the US has been doing for 8 long years.
posted by RussHy at 2:13 PM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

Mod note:

• July 27, 2004: 2004 DemConvention Speeches: Barack Obama
  (MeFi: Obama's been lauded)
• January 16, 2007: Barack Obama's Presidential Announcement
  (MeFi: Barack Obama Announces Presidential Bid)
• January 8, 2008: Barack Obama: Yes We Can
  (MeFi: Yes, We Can.) song
• March 18, 2008: Obama Speech: 'A More Perfect Union'
  (MeFi: One for the History Books)
• June 3, 2008: Barack Obama Democratic Nomination Victory Speech
  (MeFi: A moment in history; Obama Wins Presidential Nomination.)
• August 28, 2008: Sen. Barack Obama's Full Speech to the DNC
  (MeFi: A Speech So Stirring It Converted Pat Buchanan)

posted by kirkaracha (staff) at 2:13 PM on November 4, 2008 [40 favorites]

In the U.S. but want foreign coverage of the election? C-SPAN2 will have CBC's coverage from Canada. BBC America will also have coverage from the UK.
posted by ALongDecember at 2:13 PM on November 4, 2008

To paraphrase my Mother: "When you do do something good, you do do it fucking awesomely well".
posted by Rumple at 2:14 PM on November 4, 2008

Obama Volunteer On Scene Disputes Fox News' Suggestions That Black Panthers Are Intimidating Voters
posted by homunculus at 2:17 PM on November 4, 2008

I have a bottle of champagne that's been in my fridge since Thanksgiving (Canadian Thanksgiving), is an election in a country I don't even live in a good enough reason to break out the bubbly?
posted by jacquilynne at 2:18 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Looking for a network to watch that will report results as they come in, without handicapping the election overly with exit polling. What should I watch? (Assume all the usual cable & broadcast networks, but I don't have HD).
posted by contessa at 2:19 PM on November 4, 2008

41 minutes until the first polls close.
posted by desjardins at 2:19 PM on November 4, 2008

chuckdarwin - you're right about France 24, thanks for the tip! I'm now flipping through all the other 24h news channels I normally don't watch and Russia Today is pretty interesting as well.
posted by triggerfinger at 2:20 PM on November 4, 2008

Voted earlier today at Venice High School. Went over there a few minutes after seven and got in line with a book to read. Took 45 minutes.

Reading about everyone else's ballots is interesting. LA has the Inkavote. You get a crayon sized ink stamper so you don't have to bubble it in yourself, but otherwise it's like any other scantron-type ballot.

Plus it has this fun spring-click sound and movement that makes it feel like you voted with authority. Ker-chunk! ker-chunk! ker-chunk!

Of course, California's a done deal for the general election. Our concerns are more about the state propositions, particularly the OCHO.
posted by linux at 2:22 PM on November 4, 2008

Annoyingly, both CNN and MSNBC are bubbling over with their idea of what the big question is, which is "How early will we be able to call this?"

Memories like goldfish.
posted by rokusan at 2:23 PM on November 4, 2008

Amazing video of the lines in the West Village this morning -- for those who know the 'hood, the line wraps around Greenwich for about 50 people, then *all* the way down Barrow, and then around onto Hudson for another 25-30 people. Unbelievable! (YT)
posted by fourcheesemac at 2:24 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Oh my goodness! The Voting machines have elected oneof their own!
posted by DreamerFi at 2:24 PM on November 4, 2008

I walked right in and got the ballot. No line for this Chicagoan.
posted by shakespeherian at 2:25 PM on November 4, 2008

Just went for my post-lunch walk (wow it's cold!) and saw three cars drive up to the ballot drop-box across the street from the office. One woman dropped in two ballots. Gave me a bit of a smile.
posted by epersonae at 2:26 PM on November 4, 2008

Impeach, expel Barack Obama!
posted by homunculus at 2:27 PM on November 4, 2008

For those biting their nails at home, for heaven's sake sign up at obama.com and make get out the vote calls like I've been doing. Pick a battleground state, it's an easy low-pressure script encouraging a vote, giving polling location info etc. I've got to go be in the world some more now, but I'll no doubt be back at it later. Think about that razor thin margin in Ohio last time and just do it!
posted by nanojath at 2:28 PM on November 4, 2008

41 minutes until the first polls close.

Although it's worth noting that the only polls closing at 6 p.m. Eastern are those in the Eastern time zone portions of Indiana and Kentucky; no state will be completely closed until 7 p.m., and IIRC the networks have agreed not to call a state until it's polls are completely closed. Even if they did, I wouldn't trust any Indiana calls before 7 p.m.: Lake County (Chicago suburbs) is the 2nd-most populous county in the state, heavily Democratic, and in the Central time zone.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 2:29 PM on November 4, 2008

41 minutes until the first polls close.

Time in Indiana.
posted by mrgrimm at 2:29 PM on November 4, 2008

Reading about everyone else's ballots is interesting.

In New York we have the huge turn-crank lever things. It's very satisfying to flip your heavy analog toggle and then CRANK that lever to the left. Like you're working the bellows of the U.S.S Democracy.
posted by The Whelk at 2:30 PM on November 4, 2008 [7 favorites]

the networks have agreed not to call a state until it's polls are completely closed.

I'm so excited I'm confusing "it's" and "its."
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 2:30 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

no state will be completely closed until 7 p.m.,

One hour and 29 minutes until the first polls close! FTFM.
posted by desjardins at 2:32 PM on November 4, 2008

kirkaracha I was reading through one of those threads (on his anouncement) and came across ths comment about Rev Wright. Not as a criticism, but as a way to calm people about Obama being 'too religious'.
posted by delmoi at 2:33 PM on November 4, 2008

For anybody living under a rock the last two years, a brief primer:

The Speeches of Barack Obama
2002 Speech Against the War in Iraq (text, partial video)
"Delivered on Wednesday, October 2, 2002 by Barack Obama, Illinois State Senator, at the first high-profile Chicago anti-Iraq war rally (organized by Chicagoans Against War in Iraq) at noon in Federal Plaza in Chicago, Illinois; at the same day and hour that President Bush and Congress announced their agreement on the joint resolution authorizing the Iraq War, but over a week before it was passed by either body of Congress."

[NOTE: Since that day, the full video of the speech has been lost. The video above is the only known footage of the speech, a single 13-second clip, supplemented by a collage-style re-enactment of the rest of the speech by Obama supporters across the country.]

Keynote Address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention (text, video, Mefi)
Obama's break-out moment on the national stage, his inspiring keynote address vaults him from a little-known state senator to political rock star and potential presidential candidate.

"Call to Renewal" (text, video, Mefi)
Obama speaks about the role of religion in public life and the best ways to put to rest the partisan divide it often manifests in our politics.

Announcement of Presidential Campaign, February 2007 (text, video, Mefi)
Delivered on a cold February morning outside the old Illinois State House -- the same place Abraham Lincoln announced his candidacy.

Speech on Technology at Google (video)
Participating in the search giant's "Candidates@Google" program for the second time, Obama discusses his views on technology and takes questions from the audience of Googlers.

Speech at the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner (text, video)
Obama's speech at the influential Jefferson-Jackson Dinner in Iowa gives him a chance to sway the electorate in the nation's first caucus.

Iowa Caucus Victory Speech (text, video part 1, part 2, Mefi)
After his stunning upset win over presumptive favorite Hillary Clinton, Obama delivers a powerouse address to an ecstatic crowd of supporters in Des Moines.

"Yes We Can" Speech (text, video, music video, Mefi 1, Mefi 2)
After an unexpected loss to Clinton in the nation's first primary, Obama gives a surprisingly triumphant speech that forms the basis for will.i.am's "Yes We Can" viral video.

"The Great Need of the Hour" (text, video)
Delivered at Martin Luther King, Jr.'s church in Atlanta, Obama's speech calls for the seeking of social justice and economic equality among all people of the United States.

"A More Perfect Union" (text, video, Mefi)
After controversial statements by his pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright surface in the media, Obama delivers a bold speech on the nature of race in America.

Clinching the Nomination (text, video part 1, 2, 3, Mefi)
After clinching the Democratic nomination, Obama speaks to a capacity crowd in St. Paul -- in the very same arena that will soon host the Republican National Convention.

"A World That Stands as One" (text, video)
Delivered in at the Victory Column in Berlin before a crowd of 200,000.

Introducing Joe Biden (text, video, Mefi)
Obama debuts Sen. Joe Biden as his vice presidential nominee.

Formally Accepting the Nomination (text, video, Mefi 1, Mefi 2)
Obama's formal acceptance speech for the Democratic nomination at Invesco Field in Chicago is followed by a spectacle of fireworks and orchestral music.

Fredericksburg in the Virginia Rain (video)
Delivering a determined speech during an evening rainshower to a crowd of 25,000 in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Bittersweet Speech at Charlotte (video, Mefi)
On the verge of winning the presidency, Obama speaks emotionally on the death of his grandmother in Hawaii.

General Election Victory Speech in Chicago (text, video, Mefi)
[COMING SOON]

Inaugural Address on the Capitol Steps (text, video, Mefi)
[COMING SOON]

* * *

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go vote. I may live in Alabama, a very red state, but frankly I don't give a damn about that right now. Every vote counts. Every person matters.

Yes. We. Can.
posted by Rhaomi at 2:33 PM on November 4, 2008 [113 favorites]

No line at my polling place at 5PM, I hope that means everyone voted earlier. They didn't give me a sticker, but I have photographic proof.

Man, that was a satisfying bubble to fill in.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 2:34 PM on November 4, 2008

I'm not an American, so I can only watch from the sidelines. Given how badly you all fucked it up the last two times, I'm worried this time, too. But I'm hopeful.
posted by ten pounds of inedita at 2:35 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

“Obama Volunteer On Scene Disputes Fox News' Suggestions That Black Panthers Are Intimidating Voters”

Black Panthers? My God man, shouldn’t they be in zoos?
...oh, I see, the radical group... Aren’t most of those guys about 70 years old? I don’t see them intimidating anyone really. They could gum a guy pretty badly I suppose...but then how do you make sure someone votes for your guy once they’re in the anonymity of the booth?
No, none of this adds up at all, see?

F’ing Fox news. Jesus. I could squat out a better news organization. I could hire 8 year olds who could outperform them even in elementary propaganda dissemination: “Alert! Obama eats his boogers!”
posted by Smedleyman at 2:37 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Went to vote before work, left about 40 minutes early, the polling place is around the block from my apartment in Chicago. The line was about half a block long, took over an hour to get my ballot. Was told I could wait for one of the polling booths, or use a spare table off to the side, I opted for the table. Was done by 8:30, outside the line was still just as long. A week or so ago I received a letter from the Chicago Board of Elections that due to the large number of new voter registrations the number of people in my precinct was nearly double the norm. I'm not sure if that number is due to a higher percentage of people registered, or just to the larger number of people living there, thanks to all the new construction in the area.
posted by borkencode at 2:38 PM on November 4, 2008

And from the glimmers of hope department: MSNBC has just started talking about their exit polls, and when it comes to "#1 concerns" they are treating "Iraq" and "terrorism" as two different choices.

About time.
posted by rokusan at 2:38 PM on November 4, 2008

Wow, Rhaomi. What a lovely resource. Thank you!
posted by fourcheesemac at 2:41 PM on November 4, 2008

"Given how badly you all fucked it up the last two times, I'm worried this time, too. But I'm hopeful."

Rest easy, my non-American friend, McCain has it locked up.
posted by MarshallPoe at 2:42 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

And from the glimmers of hope department: MSNBC has just started talking about their exit polls, and when it comes to "#1 concerns" they are treating "Iraq" and "terrorism" as two different choices.

I'm assuming that for people who pick "Iraq" their position is to get the fuck out.
posted by delmoi at 2:44 PM on November 4, 2008

I just went down to the local (Seattle) Obama office to do something, anything.....and it was looking like they had their bases covered on calling/canvassing, so I grabbed a yard sign and went down to the intersection of Mercer and Fairview.

I know it's not a very important job, and that no one's mind is going to change after simply seeing some idiot on a corner waving a sign, but my god, the joy I felt as car after car after bus after truck honked and waved and gave me the thumbs up - it was unbelievable.

The streets of Seattle feel ALIVE and happy right now and it's so awesome, it makes me love this place even more.

YES WE CAN!
posted by tristeza at 2:44 PM on November 4, 2008 [4 favorites]

I think that's pretty much the right-wing's mindset all the time. That's why they are the way they are...
posted by Windopaene at 5:06 PM on November 4

Not at all. The way the country is feeling about Obama today is the way it felt in 1980 about Reagan - it's morning in America. That election was basically a referendum on the 1970's, including the part of it run by Republicans (remember that Reagan lost the '76 nomination to Ford). This is a referendum on the 2000's and the Clinton Democratic Party. Obama reminds me of Reagan in so many ways it would be difficult to list them all.
posted by Pastabagel at 2:45 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Oh, Paxman is on now. You guys are missing out.
posted by chuckdarwin at 2:45 PM on November 4, 2008

I'm torn because I want to vote Green this year but I actually respect the Democratic candidate for once. I don't necessarily agree with him on some issues but he's the finest candidate the Democrats have put forward in my time. I also consider him more qualified to lead the country than the candidate from my own party. So much so I'm sporting an Obama t-shirt and button today.

Now to post this, log off, leave work, hide my t-shirt under a jacket and do my part to turn NE-2 blue.

At least there is a Green senate candidate I can vote for...
posted by Fezboy! at 2:45 PM on November 4, 2008

Obama reminds me of Reagan in so many ways it would be difficult to list them all.

which is odd because I'm always struck by how much he remings me of Carter, and in '80 if there was one thing you could say about Reagan's campaign it was that it was decidedly negative.
posted by shmegegge at 2:47 PM on November 4, 2008

Rhaomi gets a big sloppy man kiss for that one.
posted by chuckdarwin at 2:49 PM on November 4, 2008

Anyone know a popular "alternate country to live in" for right wingers who can't stand to live in a Socialist Obama led USA?

Alaska ... after Todd and Sarah Palin along with the Alaskan Independence Party achieve their goal of seceding from the lower 48.
posted by ericb at 2:49 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

This is a referendum on the 2000's and the Clinton Democratic Party.

What
posted by emjaybee at 2:50 PM on November 4, 2008

I voted AND I got a free vibrator!

I kid you not -- Free sex toys — and much more — for voting!
posted by ericb at 2:51 PM on November 4, 2008

First exit polls show Obama up by narrower margins than expected.
posted by CunningLinguist at 2:52 PM on November 4, 2008

Babeland's (New York, Los Angeles and Seattle) offerings:

"For men, it’s the 'Maverick,' a 'sleeve' for self-pleasuring. According to a press release, 'He’s always there to lend a hand, he works for every man, and he bucks the status quo.' Women can choose the 'Silver Bullet' mini-vibrator, which is 'a magical solution to difficult problems' and 'a great stress-reliever during these troubled economic times!' The promotion lasts through Nov. 11."

posted by ericb at 2:53 PM on November 4, 2008

Ten reasons why you should ignore exit polls, from the geniuses at fivethirtyeight.com
posted by baltimoretim at 2:55 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

This is a referendum on the 2000's and the Clinton Democratic Party.

Okay, that's the single weirdest perspective yet.

You're right about the referendum. But that's the wrong President.
posted by rokusan at 2:55 PM on November 4, 2008

Five Thirty Eight has a good article up on why you should ignore Exit Polls.

I'm off to wander Toronto, and hopefully cheer an Obama victory tonight. Please Jesus let this man win.
posted by chunking express at 2:55 PM on November 4, 2008

I meant to take a picture of my old-fashioned lever polling machine today, I'm not sure if they'll be around next year or not. But I was too excited about voting to remember to do it. Not a single person there when I was voting, I was voter #27 at 6:50 this morning in a small volunteer fire station in upstate NY.

I didn't vote democrat, which is weird to say. But that's only because in NY we can vote for Obama on the Working Families Party ticket. So I could give my vote to a progressive, third-party without worrying about it being thrown away.

And then I had to go to work and listen to my co-workers. This was the only day that people talked openly about their politics, and many people were basing their vote on 2nd amendment fears and who said "God" more in the last speech.
posted by saffry at 2:56 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

She mentioned New Zealand. Is there a right wing in New Zealand?

Man, I'm getting off topic here, but, yes.

Berkeley seems remarkably calm right now. I suppose we all know which way California is going to lean, but ... surely I'm not the only one biting my nails?
posted by barnacles at 2:57 PM on November 4, 2008

*hyperventilates*
posted by Bookhouse at 2:59 PM on November 4, 2008

Ten Reasons Why You Should Ignore Exit Polls
How Early Voting Changed the Game in 2008
posted by kirkaracha at 3:01 PM on November 4, 2008

I didn't vote democrat, which is weird to say. But that's only because in NY we can vote for Obama on the Working Families Party ticket. So I could give my vote to a progressive, third-party without worrying about it being thrown away.

You may have actually thrown your vote away whether you intended to or not.

Remember that we aren't voting directly for Obama or McCain, but for a group of Party Electors to be sent to the Electoral College. I suspect that the Working Families Party won't be sending their 31 electors to the college, and your vote may be tallied for Obama in the total count, but your vote for a different party's electors may end up meaning nothing.
posted by chimaera at 3:03 PM on November 4, 2008

More numbers.
posted by CunningLinguist at 3:03 PM on November 4, 2008

Apologies if this has already been addressed, but I can't find anything in this thread or on AskMe...

Are there any live video feeds I can watch? I don't have cable, and I'd like to kick back with some snacks and beers and just watch, rather than reloading news sites endlessly.

C-SPAN has a feed, so I'll check that out, but some options would be nice...
posted by greenie2600 at 3:04 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Come next August, I expect a spike in the birth rate for liberal couples.
posted by strangeleftydoublethink at 3:06 PM on November 4, 2008 [4 favorites]

So what if there were no volunteers for the voting stations? Would people not get to vote?

(I'm totally bewildered by this - here in Australia, people are paid to do that stuff, and it runs on a Saturday so most everyone can get there, but then, we have to vote.)
posted by b33j at 3:06 PM on November 4, 2008

Poll workers are paid here, b33j. At least they are in my county.
posted by The corpse in the library at 3:10 PM on November 4, 2008

Chimaera- when third parties endorse major party presidential candidates, they are agreeing to vote for the Obama and McCain-chosen electors. New York has a long history with the Liberal and Conservative parties piggybacking on the Republican and Democratic parties. If things worked the way you suggested, Obama and McCain would obviously sue to have their names removed from those parties on the ballot.
posted by aswego at 3:10 PM on November 4, 2008

Just in case you haven't been able to make up your mind yet, here's an incredible McCain vs. Palin debate (via).
posted by ssmith at 3:11 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Mark Steyn on the Dixville Notch results:

The Curse of the Notch

Election results:

1960 Nixon 9 Kennedy 0

1976 Ford 13 Carter 11

1992 Bush 15 Perot 8 Marrou 5 Clinton 3

2008 Obama 15 McCain 6

Every 16 years a candidate sweeps the Notch and goes on to lose the nation.

posted by Jahaza at 3:11 PM on November 4, 2008

Are there any live video feeds I can watch?

MSNBC
posted by Knappster at 3:12 PM on November 4, 2008 [4 favorites]

This year The Curse is offset by the Redskins loss.
posted by strangeleftydoublethink at 3:13 PM on November 4, 2008

I have the same question as greenie2600. I'm at work now, but I'd love to find a feed to watch in a couple hours.
posted by roll truck roll at 3:13 PM on November 4, 2008

Thanks, Knappster!
posted by greenie2600 at 3:14 PM on November 4, 2008

Thanks, Knappster.
posted by roll truck roll at 3:14 PM on November 4, 2008

Obama reminds me of Reagan in so many ways it would be difficult to list them all.

Holy shit! Obama for me is so opposite from Reagan, that it's like Obama's black, and Reagan's white.
posted by Eekacat at 3:16 PM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

Thanks for that, Knappster.
posted by Bookhouse at 3:18 PM on November 4, 2008

BBC

France24!!
posted by chuckdarwin at 3:18 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Thanks for the clarification, aswego.
posted by chimaera at 3:18 PM on November 4, 2008

Obama goes like this: <>
posted by clearly at 3:18 PM on November 4, 2008

(When I checked this thread 11pm Monday night +GMT11: 87 posts. Now, Tuesday 10am: 813 post.)
posted by oxford blue at 3:19 PM on November 4, 2008

“At least there is a Green senate candidate I can vote for...”

I voted pretty much 3rd party. Not for president of course, but pretty much otherwise. Few particulars otherwise. But I am from Illinois.

I mean...f’ng Blagojevich with his 70’s hockey player jagoff haircut...I’d rather vote LaRouche* than support him. Or anyone like him.

*note: I did not vote LaRouche

“Babeland's (New York, Los Angeles and Seattle) offerings:
"For men, it’s the 'Maverick,' a 'sleeve' for self-pleasuring....' Women can choose the 'Silver Bullet' mini-vibrator,”

It just seems wrong picking up a sex toy and going home alone...
Y’know, better, worse...voting *is* sex.
Could be anyway. Say baby, do you ‘vote’?
posted by Smedleyman at 3:19 PM on November 4, 2008

"Berkeley seems remarkably calm right now."

Iowa City is pretty calm too, thank God.
posted by MarshallPoe at 3:20 PM on November 4, 2008

Obama goes like this: <
Reagan goes like this: >


[damn you HTML! damn you!]
posted by clearly at 3:21 PM on November 4, 2008

[damn you HTML! damn you!]

Well, those are left and right…
posted by oaf at 3:24 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

I have never in my life seen so many black men crying let alone crying as they left the voting precinct.
posted by CunningLinguist at 3:26 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Who doesn't want to live in New Zealand? Amazingly beautiful + Murray.

Lots of Murrays in NZ. And Kevs and Steves and Bevans.
posted by dydecker at 3:31 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

You guys type too fast for me to keep up, so I'm off to vandalize MarshallPoe's wikipedia page. But only because he's from Iowa too.

I voted. Split ticket, since I think Harkin does a great job (even though he creeps me out when he refers to himself in the third person during interviews). But I did my part.

What an exciting campaign. I got to be a Story County delegate for Obama, and tried to get to the state level, but didn't happen. But I did what I could, and went as far as I was allowed.

This is the first election I have voted in where the choice was clear and I wasn't voting against a candidate.

Registered none party for 19 years. Registered Democrat to caucus. I've since fixed my affiliation, but it feels like a holiday to me right now. Six months of following politics like I've never done before. Amazing.
posted by cjorgensen at 3:32 PM on November 4, 2008

Voting Lessons from Black Church Ladies < one of the best things I've read all day
posted by jeanmari at 3:34 PM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

Added Marshal Poe voted for McCain in the '08 election to get a free vibrator to the wikipage. It could be true.
posted by cjorgensen at 3:35 PM on November 4, 2008

This is a referendum on the 2000's and the Clinton Democratic Party.

Okay, that's the single weirdest perspective yet.

You're right about the referendum. But that's the wrong President.
posted by rokusan at 2:55 PM on November 4

Clinton was president from 1992-2000. Bush was President from 2000-2008. Hillary ran again this time, to a great extent on Bill's record. But Clinton in the 90's deployed center-left strategy that left a lot of die-hards unhappy. Hence Nader in 2000, and Gore's failure.

My point is that the primary was where Obama had to run against Hillary and the Clinton legacy.
posted by Pastabagel at 3:35 PM on November 4, 2008

Voting on an old analog machine was easy; why would any state switch to electronic voting?

Pull the big lever! *clank*

Push down the little levers for your candidates! *tick* *tick* *tick*

Pull the big lever back! *grind-clank*

No hacking, no miscalibrations, plus the satisfyingly solid sounds of the gears of democracy turning.
posted by Grimp0teuthis at 3:35 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Okay! I'm off watch floating in the Gulf with my snacks and Mountain Dew at 2:26 in the monring! I'll be tired as hell, but I'm determined to see at least some of the East Coast decided. I would like to agree how amazing technology is that I'm sitting in a warship on the internet overseeing the United States elections. Wondrous!

There is a reason I'm voting for Obama, and it isn't issues or hero worship. Well, actually, it's a little bit of both: I do agree with many items on his platforms and there's some raw charisma that draws me forth. But the real reason that I voted with no hesitation was that he's a man of judgment. Maybe that judgment won't always agree with me, but from everything we've seen him do, every moment in the Senate and on the campaign, Sen. Obama has shown himself to be someone that you can throw anything at he'll deal with it. He knows when to ignore problems. He knows when to deal with problems. He knows when he's out of his league. For me in my little space of the United States, there are a thousand things I want him to do (I can get kinda socialist even), but the best reason for him was all the things I didn't think about. Of all the candidates, he seemed the least bound by an ideology and the most bound by judgment. Judgment. In the end, reason, vision, and judgment will enable him to lead us when times are both sunny and dark.

On a less serious note, I hope he takes a page from Saruman when he wins and starts shouting, "A new power is rising! It's victory is at hand!" Then he'll turn to all the MeFis and say "You shall not know pain, you shall not know fear! You shall taste manflesh!" And we'll be so excited and happy that we'll storm off and eat someone.
posted by Lord Chancellor at 3:38 PM on November 4, 2008 [20 favorites]

CunningLinguists Gawker leaked exit polls don't seem to match up with Huffington Post's leaked exit.

Gawker has Obama leading by 4% in Pennsylvania, Huffington by 15%.

Could be that one of them is using adjusted figures, could be that one or both is just wrong.
posted by TheophileEscargot at 3:42 PM on November 4, 2008

My point is that the primary was where Obama had to run against Hillary and the Clinton legacy.

Then your point should be that THAT (the Primary) was a referendum on Clinton.

But general election certainly is not. This is a pretty clear "change, please" vs "more, please" election.
posted by rokusan at 3:42 PM on November 4, 2008

"voting is better than sex."

"TAKE THAT BACK!"

O's bringing sexy & voting back.
posted by Feisty at 3:44 PM on November 4, 2008

I love those big mechanical machines. They're crazy, too, but at least they're crazy in an endearing way.
posted by rokusan at 3:45 PM on November 4, 2008

Just wanted to say that I'm with all of you watching the election news. My best wishes to all Americans right now.

CL from México.
posted by CrazyLemonade at 3:46 PM on November 4, 2008

The Black President
posted by horsemuth at 3:46 PM on November 4, 2008

"Added Marshal Poe voted for McCain in the '08 election to get a free vibrator to the wikipage"

Call an admin! I got nothin'! No. Thing.
posted by MarshallPoe at 3:47 PM on November 4, 2008

If one were looking for an authoritarian, free market country to move to, it seems only reasonable that the right-wingers fuck off to Russia under Putin. In fact--oh this feels good--Don't like socialist Obama-america? Move to Russia!

The world is different than it was when I was a child.
posted by stet at 3:47 PM on November 4, 2008 [5 favorites]

This is really a beautiful thread.

After today, this is my second favorite quasi-democracy.
posted by Toekneesan at 3:47 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

If I hear one more TV asshat use the phrase "an historic" I'm going to have to throw down and burn some houses.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 3:49 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

12 minutes until the polls close. I feel like a kid waiting for Xmas. Can we unwrap just one present tonite? Please?
posted by RussHy at 3:50 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Almooooost 7PM EST.

Yo, Virginia: don't let us down!
posted by defenestration at 3:51 PM on November 4, 2008

AUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH

This wait is... well, I guess in a strictly literal sense, it's bearable. But that's the best I'm going to say about it.
posted by Flunkie at 3:52 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Jesus, this is a lot of thread.

My wife and I got up at the crack of dawn, went to the polls at 6.10 and were 7th and 8th in line. The crowds went out the door a little before 7am, and everyone cheered when the official told us the polls were now open. Two votes for hope, two for equal rights (up yours, Prop 8), then back home (where I got a little carried away), and off to the office. There were lines down the block at every polling place I drove by, from Santa Monica to North Hollywood.

She's now on a plane to Charlotte, probably halfway there by now, for a client meeting. I am so incredibly bummed that she won't be here tonight, but, lucky her, she's going to step off that plane and it'll be 8pm EST. I mean, she'll be in THE FUTURE.

Here's hoping she lands in a good one.
posted by RakDaddy at 3:52 PM on November 4, 2008

I can't bear it.

I am breaking out my personal favorite sparkling white wine, Mondoro Asti. It is made from happy grapes and comes in a convenient single serving container!
posted by winna at 3:53 PM on November 4, 2008

I'm calling Indiana for Obama, even my freaking dad voted for him.
posted by These Premises Are Alarmed at 3:53 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Just voted in Philadelphia. No line and just one unoccupied booth. They were out of stickers but the Obama supporters outside gave me a nice "I voted for change" sticker. Let's see how Indiana turns out!
posted by cmfletcher at 3:53 PM on November 4, 2008

MSNBC sez the Republicans are saying Dole is toast.
posted by Bookhouse at 3:55 PM on November 4, 2008

I am so hyper I baked an Obama sweet potato victory pie!

If they call it for Obama before 11 pm (that's when the last grocery store closes for the night around here) I'll go out and buy an Obama coconut creme pie!

Right now I'm heading over to "pie" the NYT's Word Train!
posted by maggieb at 3:56 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

MSNBC has some results from Indiana. Three minutes till the first polls close.
posted by delmoi at 3:56 PM on November 4, 2008

12 minutes until the polls close. I feel like a kid waiting for Xmas.

Oh, yes. I've got my spreadsheet ready, I've got CNN on one tuner and MSNBC on the other (though DirecTV's Election Mix might replace MSNBC) and 10 tabs open. Bring on the results!

Now, can someone teach my 14 elementary kids tomorrow so I don't have to get up early? No? C'mon . . . .
posted by booksherpa at 3:57 PM on November 4, 2008

This election should be a referendum on "a" vs. "an" historic.
posted by drezdn at 3:58 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

At home I have White Russian supplies, an IRC channel full of fellow weenies to watch webcasts with, and ..I'm sitting here in my studio at work, debating whether or not to stick around for a few more minutes or just say fuck it and bolt.

....

Fuck it. See you guys in 20. Wish me luck driving home while hammering refresh on my blackberry.
posted by jake at 3:58 PM on November 4, 2008

I voted, and stood behind this dude from The Wire. It felt fine, though the line took about 45 minutes.
Now, I am fucking WIGGING the fuck out. I was totally unprepared for how anxious I would be.
USA #1
posted by Stonestock Relentless at 3:58 PM on November 4, 2008

3% reporting in IND w/out marion & lake counties ------ obama up by 2 pts

NYT mapitymap
posted by xorry at 3:58 PM on November 4, 2008

McCain's Campaign Manager:

...The global economic collapse in the middle of September occurred at a time when we were ahead in the race, dropping the right-track number to roughly 5, 6, 7 percent, which are numbers that I don't think will ever be seen again in any of our lifetimes. It was a bad economic environment throughout the election, where people were angry at the incumbent party. At the end of the day, I don't think there is another Republican that the party could have nominated that could have made this a competitive race the way that John McCain did. It's one thing we know for sure is that at a Congressional level the Senate Democratic majorities and the House Democratic majorities will expand. The party has been very unpopular. The president's approval numbers were not helpful in the race. But the party as a whole is unpopular with the American people, and that was a big albatross.

posted by delmoi at 3:59 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

OK. Staying up here on the south coast of the UK to root for a result that will make all of my USian friends happy.

Got the supplies...
Indian hashish
Belize Rum
English pasty
But good ol' Coca Cola from the US..ah no. Made under licence in GB.
OK, so good ol' Marlboro Lights from the US...ah. Made under blah, blah, blah in the EU.
OK, laptop designed in California.
I tried.

Just make me proud of you again USA.
posted by i_cola at 3:59 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Obama supporters outside gave me a nice "I voted for change" sticker.

It's illegal to take money for your vote.
posted by rokusan at 4:00 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Raining relentlessly here in NC. Glad that over 2 million of us voted early.
posted by statolith at 4:00 PM on November 4, 2008

The line on Tremont St, Boston at 9 this morning. It went around the corner.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 4:00 PM on November 4, 2008

This morning, I waited 45 minutes in line at my polling station which is some guy's garage a few block away. When I got near the front they ran out of ballots (after being open for only 2 hrs), waited 30 minutes for a resupply. When I finally got a ballot all the privacy booths where full, so I marked my ballots sitting on the guy's brick stoop.

Voting was nearly a 2 hour ordeal today, and it was so worth it.
posted by MiltonRandKalman at 4:01 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

NBC calls VT for Obama. Way Ballsy.
posted by These Premises Are Alarmed at 4:02 PM on November 4, 2008

CNN/MSNBC have called Kentucky for McCain, Indiana is about 50 votes apart.
posted by Lemurrhea at 4:02 PM on November 4, 2008

Polls here in central PA are still busy. The local public radio station just reminded folks that as long as they were in line, they'd get to vote. That's the law here. We're heading back to campus with pizza for poll workers. Could be a long night.
posted by Toekneesan at 4:04 PM on November 4, 2008

Then he'll turn to all the MeFis and say "You shall not know pain, you shall not know fear! You shall taste manflesh!" And we'll be so excited and happy that we'll storm off and eat someone.

Shit, I didn't know Obama had to win in order for me to legitimately taste manflesh. There goes four and a half years of keeping Mr. F happy.
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 4:04 PM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

Fingers crossed. Little bottle of champagne cooling on ice. Let's roll.
posted by brain cloud at 4:05 PM on November 4, 2008

So how is this going to roll in individual states? Results from countryside come first and go to McCain and urban centers take longer and probably go to Obama? When I should get worried?
posted by Free word order! at 4:06 PM on November 4, 2008

The Whole World Is Watching!
posted by fixedgear at 4:06 PM on November 4, 2008

There is a principle known in anthropology as "the conservation of happiness," the idea that happiness cannot be created but merely transferred, or even stolen. Recall the old saying, "laugh before breakfast, cry before supper."

This is why I, as a grown-ass rationalist atheist, can barely suppress the urge to post: "You GUYS! Shut UP! Jinx! You'll jinx iiiiit!"
posted by Countess Elena at 4:06 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

NBC calls VT for Obama. Way Ballsy.

* fist bump *
posted by jessamyn at 4:07 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

NBC calls VT for Obama. Way Ballsy.

* fist bump *

Terrorist.

* fist bump *
posted by Flunkie at 4:09 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Right now I'm heading over to "pie" the NYT's Word Train!

I'm with ya. Two pies!
posted by rokusan at 4:10 PM on November 4, 2008

I cast my ballot at an Assembly of God church, which made voting against Sarah Palin just that much better.
posted by woodway at 4:10 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

NBC calls VT for Obama. Way Ballsy.

With 0% of the precincts reporting.
posted by C17H19NO3 at 4:11 PM on November 4, 2008

Raining relentlessly here in NC.

As I drove home from class tonight there were two young women standing in that cold rain on a major intersection holding signs that say HONK IF YOU VOTED FOR CHANGE. I only noticed them in the rainy gloaming because I couldn't figure out why everyone on the road was honking frantically.

It's amazing.
posted by winna at 4:11 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Anxious Canadian placeholder comment. On edge up here in Toronto, but very hopeful!
posted by yellowbinder at 4:11 PM on November 4, 2008

Sitting in the reddest state in in the Union (per electoral-vote.com)(Suck it, Utah.)
Drove eight-hundred miles each way in August to campaign in actual swing state.
Listened today to co-worker talk about the morons who'll fall for the "dead grandmother" publicity stunt.
Listened to hill-country relative opine, with wheezing laugh, that Obama will fix the economy by [colorful rural expression meaning "to improvise or jury-rig" and rhyming with "triggering it up"].
Listened to same relative's intention to "give the boy a chance, can't do worse".
Voted in a long line of college kids, in only full precinct I've heard of today.
Have signed copy of "Audacity of Hope" in the closet, Christmas-wrapped.
Here we go.
posted by ormondsacker at 4:11 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Additionally, the next talking face that refers to the Republican or Democratic party as a brand gets a sackful of rocks to the nuts.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 4:11 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

NBC calls VT for Obama. Way Ballsy.

* fist bump *

Terrorist.

* fist bump *

FIRED UP!?
posted by xorry at 4:11 PM on November 4, 2008

"I think we could be at the cusp of a new, frankly, liberal era."

-Pat Freakin' Buchanan, a moment ago.
posted by Flunkie at 4:12 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

I predict many a * fist bump * tonight.
posted by defenestration at 4:13 PM on November 4, 2008

On MSNBC just now, Pat Buchanan just said "we may be on the cusp of a new liberal era."

(He might have said more after that, but I'm not sure: I passed out.)
posted by rokusan at 4:13 PM on November 4, 2008

(See, I passed out long enough for Flunkie to scoop me. Bump!)
posted by rokusan at 4:14 PM on November 4, 2008

May I suggest a song for the soundtrack for this great day? The Clancy Brothers - When The Ship Comes In
I am loving this. Good work everyone.
posted by dougzilla at 4:15 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

FIRED UP!?

FIRED UP!!
posted by brain cloud at 4:16 PM on November 4, 2008

Hah. CNN's goofball "holograph" interview system is being used now.
posted by delmoi at 4:16 PM on November 4, 2008

Ok, CNN has officially jumped the fucking shark.
posted by stavrogin at 4:16 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

HOLY SHIT WOLF BLITZER IS TALKING TO A HOLOGRAM
posted by Powerful Religious Baby at 4:17 PM on November 4, 2008 [5 favorites]

I finally got back from voting, and Wolf Blitzer is on CNN right now conversing with a tiny three-dimensional holographic reporter floating inches above the floor of the studio.

I know I was in that line a looong time, but come on.
posted by Rhaomi at 4:18 PM on November 4, 2008 [10 favorites]

Is Virginia scaring anybody else? Please tell me "no", help me stay happy and HOLY FUCK PRINCESS LEIA IS ON CNN
posted by penduluum at 4:18 PM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

Huh? What are they doing on CNN?
posted by cjorgensen at 4:18 PM on November 4, 2008

Switch to the beeb. Hitchens is on there. AND HE'S STILL SOBER.
posted by chuckdarwin at 4:18 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

hologram.. um.. bingo!? hmm... everyone takes a shot!
posted by xorry at 4:18 PM on November 4, 2008

DKos is calling VA for Obama, and that IN is "too close to call" when polls closed.

If this is true, these are really good signs. IN went for Bush in 2004 by over 20 percent. Obama should win all the Kerry 2004 states, just needs a few additional ones.

Dear God. How am I going to teach kindergarten this morning and not be distracted by an insatiable optimism?
posted by bardic at 4:18 PM on November 4, 2008

Jessica Yellin is gellin'

Just sayin'
posted by fixedgear at 4:18 PM on November 4, 2008

I think I like the new hologram thingy on CNN.
posted by dhruva at 4:19 PM on November 4, 2008

Help me Obi-James Carville, you're our only hope.
posted by penduluum at 4:19 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Hmm. Now VA is too close to call. I need more coffee.
posted by bardic at 4:19 PM on November 4, 2008

Is Wolf giving him the rebel plans?
posted by cjorgensen at 4:20 PM on November 4, 2008

Nobody freak out. Only two counties in bumfuck VA are in. That's it. Might as well get them out of the way up front anyhow.
posted by Doublewhiskeycokenoice at 4:20 PM on November 4, 2008

HOLY SHIT. CNN just pulled an Obi Wan with Jessica Yellinin the Election Centre.
posted by gman at 4:20 PM on November 4, 2008

HELP ME OBAMA-WAN, YOU'RE MY ONLY HOPE
posted by emelenjr at 4:20 PM on November 4, 2008 [6 favorites]

Show us your tits, sexy hologram!

Yes, you! Wolf Blitzer! Show us your tits!
posted by robocop is bleeding at 4:20 PM on November 4, 2008

Yellin in
posted by gman at 4:21 PM on November 4, 2008

Stay the fuck in line, mefites, stay the fuck in line.
posted by cortex at 4:21 PM on November 4, 2008 [12 favorites]

Somebody hold me, I'm starting to hyperventilate here. Do I dare watch?
posted by jokeefe at 4:21 PM on November 4, 2008

w00t! Wolf Blitzer tits!

Wait. That is something I don't want to see.
posted by rand at 4:23 PM on November 4, 2008

There's something weird in the air here in Greensboro, North Carolina. Over the past three days I've gotten perhaps 10 phone calls from the Obama campaign making sure I know where to vote and when the polls open. Today Obama canvasers came to my house three times; the first time was a group led by a 21 year old and two teenagers too young to vote. I was nearly moved to tears by that. They're working very hard to get out the vote down here.

There is a strangely fearful and festive feel about it all--like Santa is coming and he's either going to give you some cool shit, or maybe kick you in the balls. The air is particularly thick with this where I work. I teach at North Carolina A&T State University--an historically black university that's fiercely proud of its role in the civil rights movement. (Greensboro Four) Every single one of my students is registered to vote; as of yesterday, something like 75% of them had already voted. My wife, who teaches at a predominantly white college, is seeing the same. I have never seen anything like this before.

It is clear to me after watching my students over the last several months that Hope is a powerful thing. The picture in my second link above...I can't see that without seeing my students, and the history of Hope. And the idea of Barack Obama and Michelle Obama and their two girls living in the White House--I can see so clearly the link my students make between the Greensboro Four and what might happen tonight.

My students are pumped and proud. And worried. I canceled classes today so those who hadn't voted would be able to without worrying about what they missed in class. And I canceled classes for tomorrow...because no matter how this goes, nobody at A&T is going to want to go to class tomorrow.

The polls close here in 10 minutes. I really hope all the calls and the canvasing do the trick here in North Carolina and nationally. If so, I can't wait to get to campus on Thursday.
posted by kortez at 4:24 PM on November 4, 2008 [5 favorites]

MSNBC Georgia Results

Bob Barr?
posted by maxwelton at 4:24 PM on November 4, 2008

I bet Wolf's tits each have their own sexy, sexy beards.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 4:24 PM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

The Daily Kos site is borked for me.
posted by desjardins at 4:24 PM on November 4, 2008

Mitch McConnell, the senate minority leader, might actually lose his seat. Right now it's too close to call.

Awesome.
posted by delmoi at 4:25 PM on November 4, 2008

or better yet - Jessica Yellin.
posted by gman at 4:25 PM on November 4, 2008

DKos just went back to "Too close to call" on VA.

Hold tight everyone. The rollercoaster just started.
posted by never used baby shoes at 4:26 PM on November 4, 2008

HOLOGRAMS WTF?
posted by Oxydude at 4:27 PM on November 4, 2008

This is a referendum on the 2000's and the Clinton Democratic Party.

Wait, what?
posted by diogenes at 4:27 PM on November 4, 2008

Ah, seems to be "fixed" now. MSNBC was showing the two presidential candidates in Georgia as Bob Barr and McCain.

P.S. Would someone please please close the polls in some states where looking at early results will help my indigestion?
posted by maxwelton at 4:27 PM on November 4, 2008

Most of VA and FL counties will lean Republican. You have to wait for the urban/metropolitan-centric counties to report their polling numbers (seriously, the VA numbers are based on 22,000 rural voters).
posted by linux at 4:27 PM on November 4, 2008

FUCK! THE BEEB HAS MCCAIN UP 8 TO 3! WE'RE DOOMED!
posted by stet at 4:29 PM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

please please please please please please please please please please please please

i still have some youth left let me enjoy some of it
posted by sonic meat machine at 4:30 PM on November 4, 2008

I kept thinking recently of this Ask Metafilter comment about Obama's charisma. At the time I favored Obama over Clinton but thought, pessimistically, that she'd get the nomination and lose in the election and that he didn't have a chance. As his star kept rising, I kept thinking about that comment and hoping it actually signified something. I'm still a pessimist, even after canvassing today in a solidly pro-Obama section of town, but if Obama pulls this off I'm going to be a damned happy pessimist!
posted by shirobara at 4:30 PM on November 4, 2008

A note from our OCD IT guy - sent at 4:15pm:

For those of you in the office still, please stop streaming video, audio, & ticker feeds from the CNN, MSNBC, Boston.com, Media News Interactive (MNGINTERACTIVE.COM), and the other political sites, also stop using the interactive webpages with the statistics. Please be courteous to everyone here and check the polls when you get home. You are congesting our Internet connection and causing extreme lagging.

Dude so needs to get a life.
posted by The Light Fantastic at 4:30 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Steady people. No early freakin'
posted by i_cola at 4:32 PM on November 4, 2008

http://scoreboard.dailykos.com/map/
posted by chuckdarwin at 4:32 PM on November 4, 2008

Canada just had an election too. Can I claim refugee status in the States tomorrow?
posted by gman at 4:33 PM on November 4, 2008

NBC calls VT for Obama. Way Ballsy.

With 0% of the precincts reporting.

Awww, c'mon. Cows notoriously vote blue. You know how they feel about those bullfighters and the red capes. It's a pretty easy call.

Don't kill me. I'm originally from Vermont and close personal friends with many of said cows.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 4:33 PM on November 4, 2008

A note from our OCD IT guy.

A better IT guy would have said "Here, use this caching server I set up instead so we only have to stream it once."
posted by rokusan at 4:33 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Hey, I wasn't freakin'. Pat Freakin' Buchanan was freakin'.
posted by Flunkie at 4:33 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Aww grapefruitmoon at the pretty Jersey!

She voted! Notice her sparkling eye!
posted by winna at 4:34 PM on November 4, 2008

Dude so needs to get a life.

And a soul!! Geez. He can be neurotic when HE gets home! VIVA LE DEMOCRACY!
posted by grapefruitmoon at 4:35 PM on November 4, 2008

And I'm thinking about one of them, yes, maybe just one of them, siding up slowly next to konolia afterward and whisper to her, quietly, hopefully, just a little bit conspiratorially: yes, we can.

Wow, DaShiv - you grind some serious axe - and I don't mean that in a nice way. Believe it or not, all those people that you disagree with are going to still be around tomorrow - they will be your neighbors, your bus driver, the little old dude down the street. It's their country too, and they don't deserve to be treated this way. Grow the hell up.
posted by The Light Fantastic at 4:35 PM on November 4, 2008

Just got back from teaching. Eight kids ages 8 to 12 in a wealthy Chicago suburban park district. Every one of them told me they voted Obama at school today. Illinois, but still pretty reliable Repub district, if you go by congressional seats. Okay, time to refresh and see what I missed
posted by nax at 4:35 PM on November 4, 2008

"Berkeley seems remarkably calm right now."

Now is the time to nervously hunker down near a radio/tv/computer. Later will either be the drunken jubilant dancing or the drunken angry rioting. At least at my house.
posted by tula at 4:36 PM on November 4, 2008

winna: I was totally in love with that Jersey! Sadly, woman on cow marriage isn't even legal in Vermont. Alas. It is the love that dare not moo its name.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 4:36 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

A note from our OCD IT guy - sent at 4:15pm:

For those of you in the office still, please stop streaming video, audio, & ticker feeds from the CNN, MSNBC, Boston.com, Media News Interactive (MNGINTERACTIVE.COM), and the other political sites, also stop using the interactive webpages with the statistics. Please be courteous to everyone here and check the polls when you get home. You are congesting our Internet connection and causing extreme lagging.

Freedom hater.
posted by Ugh at 4:36 PM on November 4, 2008

I was freaking a little bit, I admit it, but I'm better now. Finding county-by-county maps and seeing Leia on CNN has helped a lot.
posted by penduluum at 4:36 PM on November 4, 2008

Obama seems to be doing a bit better than expected. Yay!
posted by Sys Rq at 4:37 PM on November 4, 2008

I was listening to a Sinatra box set this evening and the song "High Hopes" came on. I recommend listening to it. It feels appropriate to walk around singing "He's got high hopes. He's got high hopes. He's got high apple pie, in the sky hopes."

Even better, while I was looking for the song on YouTube, I discovered that Sinatra made a campaign version of the song for JFK.
posted by diogenes at 4:38 PM on November 4, 2008

Jeezum crow, I think I'm going to puke my pants.
posted by Bookhouse at 4:39 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

mean...f’ng Blagojevich with his 70’s hockey player jagoff haircut...I’d rather vote LaRouche* than support him. Or anyone like him.

That guy's in my family, lol. Never have been able to figure out how the H got on the end of his name like that... was it so Americans could figure out how to pronounce his name or what? Can't blame him for the haircut though, it's a genetic Serbian thing, it's ridiculously thick and there's nothing you can do with it.
posted by zarah at 4:39 PM on November 4, 2008

So far the Virginia results don't include "not-real" northern Virginia (1/3 of the population) or the Norfolk/Virginia Beach area (large black population).

Everyone chill the fuck out. I got this.
posted by kirkaracha at 4:41 PM on November 4, 2008 [8 favorites]

The Light Fantastic: You need a better job.

Really, what kind of place can't handle the internet traffic of its users?

People, stop using email (especially with attachments), playing online Sudoku, looking at LOLcats, and ftping applications you can't install anyway, since you're not admins on you box! And if I read another comment like that about me on metafilter I am blocking that site at the router like I did to all the Pokemon sites.

I just thought I'd help him out by writing his next message.
posted by cjorgensen at 4:42 PM on November 4, 2008

Can anyone explain the relative high Objectivist vote in FL?
posted by maxwelton at 4:43 PM on November 4, 2008

Wait, the CNN hologram thing wasn't a joke? I either need to get cable or recharge my sarcasmometer.
posted by stet at 4:45 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Sitting in the reddest state in in the Union (per electoral-vote.com)(Suck it, Utah.)

If it makes you feel any better, ormondsacker, my family, now three generations in your reddest of red states, went to Obama 6-3 (8-3 if you count me, but I vote in Washington, so I don't).

To my knowledge, this is the first time my family has favored a Democrat since FDR.

If my middle brother, a "Slick Willie" hating moderate who voted for Dubya twice, can vote for Obama, there is still hope for Oklahoma.

Keep hope alive, fellow Okie.
posted by dw at 4:45 PM on November 4, 2008

The New York Times has a wonderful map where you can zoom in to the reporting states and hover over individual counties. And on the left? A slider for prior elections. So far, all blue counties are still blue, but a few counties in VA, NC and SC appear to be going blue where they were previously red in 2004.

So yeah. Everyone chill.
posted by linux at 4:46 PM on November 4, 2008

McCain has got way to much in VA, but Obama has 55% in FL, and all he needs is FL or VA or NC or OH I think if you add PA to any of those, IIRC.
posted by delmoi at 4:46 PM on November 4, 2008

Pat Freakin' Buchanan was freakin'.

I wanna see the video of him streaking across the quad on YouTube tomorrow...
posted by i_cola at 4:47 PM on November 4, 2008

Jon Stewart * fist pump * and Stephen Colbert * fist pump * can declare themselves winners * combo fist pump * as CNN just gave them so much material.
posted by Free word order! at 4:48 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

I'm not sure what is going on in this picture (is it the site of the potential celebration?), but it makes me think of the scene at the end of V for Vengeance.
posted by diogenes at 4:50 PM on November 4, 2008

Here in Canada, trading instant messages with my friend down the street who is equally glued to election maps. We're going to see at movie at 8:30 so that we can let go of the refresh button for at least an hour and a half. After that we're hitting up the local pub, and the amount of alcohol consumed will depend entirely on how Obama's looking when we get there

I wore a homemade Obama shirt today. I got one strange look from a man on the street and that was it.

America, I'm pulling for you.
posted by riane at 4:50 PM on November 4, 2008

So they called SC for McCain with Obama leading the popular vote? This is going to be a fairly hilarious evening.
posted by maxwelton at 4:51 PM on November 4, 2008

V for Vengeance.

V for Vendetta, maybe?
posted by linux at 4:51 PM on November 4, 2008

Mod note: a few comments removed - leave that schoolyard taunting elsewhere or go to metatalk
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 4:51 PM on November 4, 2008

As I was walking back to my office after lunch today a group of 3 black men from the low income housing down the street were walking toward me. One of 'em looks at me and said "Did ya vote?" I said "Not yet. You?" One of them said "I voted early!" The guy who asked me said "I can't."
I stopped and asked him: "Was it a felony?"
"Yeah."
"Are you on probation?"
"No. I'm off."
"Then you can vote. Right up the street there. Show 'em your I.D., or if one of your buddies have I.D. and are registered, they can vouch for you. It's easy!"
"You sure?"
"Sure I'm sure, go vote!"
"Aright!"

I'm a dodgy geezer and have seen far too many dreams shattered to be as hopeful as I am today, but, dammit, I'm more excited about an election than I've ever been and I'm going to allow myself to feel that. There was no line at High Dudgeon School when I went to vote, and tonight, as I filled in the little spaces between the arrows, I thought of that man who thought he couldn't vote and felt like, this time, just this once, I got to vote twice.
posted by Floydd at 4:52 PM on November 4, 2008 [39 favorites]

Wait, the CNN hologram thing wasn't a joke? I either need to get cable or recharge my sarcasmometer.

What they've done was setup a "tent" with the cameras setup so that they could mirror the movements of the studio cameras, and they superimposed her image on the video feed from their set, so when the cameras moved, her image stayed in the right perspective.

Also she was standing in front of a blue screen which created some weird 'shimmering' around her which I thought was some goofy special effect they put on to make her look more 'sci-fi'.
posted by delmoi at 4:52 PM on November 4, 2008

Winning FL with 9% !

That's gotta be good news...
posted by Windopaene at 4:52 PM on November 4, 2008

Ugh, MSNBC has the lothesome Ken Blackwell on.
posted by delmoi at 4:53 PM on November 4, 2008

how can cbs call SC for McCain when NYT shows Obama leading???
posted by desjardins at 4:53 PM on November 4, 2008

ono! Top of the hour coming up! More wild speculation!
posted by rand at 4:54 PM on November 4, 2008

Stuck at home, alone, LOLing...thank you for being there for me MeFi. I'll never leave you again.

Come on, Fake Virginia! We need to show Richmond who's boss!
posted by JoanArkham at 4:54 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

The Light Fantastic: You need a better job.

No shit, huh?

Really, what kind of place can't handle the internet traffic of its users?

My non-profit with the psycho tech guy.

People, stop using email (especially with attachments), playing online Sudoku, looking at LOLcats, and ftping applications you can't install anyway, since you're not admins on you box! And if I read another comment like that about me on metafilter I am blocking that site at the router like I did to all the Pokemon sites.

At one time he blocked ALL streaming video and audio (he had to relent on some of it, we couldn't do our jobs [education]), and installed some bullshit filter that wouldn't let me go to the NIHM site due to "illegal drugs." He pretty much sits around all day and reads our email.
posted by The Light Fantastic at 4:54 PM on November 4, 2008

[a few comments removed - leave that schoolyard taunting elsewhere or go to metatalk]

Sorry, mum. Couldn't contain my effervescing schadenfreude.
posted by chuckdarwin at 4:55 PM on November 4, 2008

This is the truth. Ray Suarez is interviewing Tucker Bounds on PBS, in the Prescott hotel where the McCain camp is awaiting its demise.

And the song on the PA in the background is "Nowhere Man."

I kid you not.
posted by fourcheesemac at 4:55 PM on November 4, 2008

I voted. The cop at the poll gave me a high-five!
posted by Eideteker at 4:55 PM on November 4, 2008

Hope me, Wolf Blitzer!
posted by Bookhouse at 4:55 PM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

There aren't any official results in from Florida for another five minutes…
posted by oaf at 4:55 PM on November 4, 2008

For those looking at the early numbers being reported by CNN and sweatin' bigtime, all I can say is, you're looking at the wrong thing. These early results are based primarily on small counties, which are able to report in much faster than large cities. You will see this shift considerably as the night goes on.

I hate to say it, but the exit polling says far more than the actual results, at this second...

CNN's exit polling for Virginia has just been released, and is putting the contest at approximately:

54% Obama
45% McCain
1% other

Now, I know the unreliability of exit polling... Oh-io how I know... but that said, I have *NEVER* seen an exit poll shift 9 points before. By my math, this projected outcome is about 4.7 points above the projected average for this race, based on prior polls.

CNN has already called Democrat John Warner as the winner of the Senate seat in Virginia, which shows considerable confidence on their part about how this is playing out.

So, it seems pretty clear to me that Barack Obama will take Virginia by at least one vote, which makes it absolutely necessary for John McCain to take Pennsylvania, as there is no other realistic course to the White House for him if he does not do so.

I see no reason to suspect at this point that the latest Gallup and Zogby national polls aren't essentially correct -- especially considering Gallup's huge sample size advantage and favorable results with even their most conservative voter turnout model -- and that Barack Obama is on his way to winning by a significant margin nationwide, most likely making this the biggest non-incumbent victory since at least Reagan (9%), if not Eisenhower (11%) or even F.D.R. (17%).

This, frankly, looks historic.
posted by markkraft at 4:56 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/04/live-blogging-covering-the-coverage/?src=scrl#t19h30m

They already have an article on the hologram thing.
posted by mrzarquon at 4:56 PM on November 4, 2008

Heh, CNN calls South Carolina for McCain. He's got 44% (to Obama's 55%) so far.
posted by delmoi at 4:57 PM on November 4, 2008

V for Vendetta, maybe?

Yeah, that's the one. V for Vengeance was my Sweded version.
posted by diogenes at 4:58 PM on November 4, 2008

Can anyone explain the relative high Objectivist vote in FL?

Mixup in the voting machines. Turns out A only = A if you don't fill out the bubble completely.
posted by stet at 4:59 PM on November 4, 2008

Just want to say that Anderson is looking awfully spiffy tonight!!
posted by pearlybob at 4:59 PM on November 4, 2008

That hologram gimmick is just fucking ridiculous! Hahahaha.
posted by defenestration at 4:59 PM on November 4, 2008

What? Wolf Blitzer joined Jem and the Holograms???
posted by needled at 4:59 PM on November 4, 2008

No line at all at my polling place in Honolulu at 8:00 am this morning. I went right in, did my civic duty and went right out. I was listening to Wilco with the Fleet Foxes covering Dylan's "I Will Be Released," which is available for free download at Wilco's site for voters. It was actually quite by coincidence that that particular song was playing, as the ol' iPod was on shuffle at the time.

Anyhow, I was quietly overcome with a sense of history.

I'm not a Democrat or Republican. I frequently vote for third party candidates because I refuse to vote for the lesser of two evils. This year, I voted for Obama and felt pretty damn good about it.
posted by Joey Michaels at 4:59 PM on November 4, 2008

"CNN has already called Democrat John Warner as the winner of the Senate seat in Virginia..."

That's Mark Warner... John Warner is the Republican incumbent who's retiring.
posted by Jahaza at 4:59 PM on November 4, 2008

MSNBC: "Pennsylvania has gone to Obama"
posted by Flunkie at 5:00 PM on November 4, 2008

PA called for Obama!

* fist bump *!
posted by defenestration at 5:00 PM on November 4, 2008

MSNBC just called Pennsylvania for Obama.
posted by aerotive at 5:00 PM on November 4, 2008

MSNBC's calling PA right out of the gate for Obama.
posted by oaf at 5:00 PM on November 4, 2008

Haha who just saw on CNN they had a tally for Maine, with only 3 votes counted! Obama wins 2 - 1!
posted by yellowbinder at 5:01 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

CNN projects MA, IL (duh), CT, NJ, Mane, Delaware (Biden's state), Maryland, and DC. McCain gets Oklahoma and Tennessee.
posted by delmoi at 5:01 PM on November 4, 2008

MSNBC just called Pennsylvania for Obama.

Shit, I should have had MSNBC on.
posted by delmoi at 5:02 PM on November 4, 2008

I got off work, drove to the polling place at the elementary school here in South Seattle, parked my truck a few blocks away to avoid departing bus traffic, and walked in. Zero wait time. I'm so sorry for all those who described horrific wait times and conditions.

Name found quickly on register. "Paper or electronic?" Despite my curiosity about the new devices, I just couldn't bring myself to use the electronic machine. And, to be completely truthful, I'm a fairly apolitical person, and have no well though out opinion about most of the candidates or initiatives. So I was wary of voting electronically due to my anticipated need to skip numerous contests.

Despite being a generally apolitical person, I think I've voted in all but one presidential campaign since voting for Carter in 1980. I missed 1992 because I was on the road with the sideshow, and was too apathetic to get an absentee ballot. Ironically, I think I was in Florida at the time...

Filled the "Obama" oval carefully and completely with black ink...

The machine that accepts the completed ballot has a motorized feed mechanism of some sort, and a slot narrow enough to only accept the document fed end-wise, so it dawned on me that there were 4 possible orientations that I could use to insert it. The young white man sitting beside the machine must have sensed this, and told me "It doesn't matter which way you put it in".

No wait, no being re-directed to vote somewhere else, no chads, no weird metallic page-turning-punch-card-thingies, no "butterfly ballot", no horror story of electronic vote-swapping. Black and white worked just fine.

I think this is the first time in my life I've found voting to be a genuinely moving experience...
posted by Tube at 5:02 PM on November 4, 2008

Wait, the CNN hologram thing wasn't a joke?

Depends what you mean by "joke". I mean, it's pretty hilarious.
posted by rokusan at 5:02 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

McCain ticked up to 9 on intrade. WTF, Intrade?
posted by drezdn at 5:03 PM on November 4, 2008

Initial absentee results in Cuyahoga County, OH have Obama up by 100k votes.
posted by sciurus at 5:03 PM on November 4, 2008

2 states split up their electoral votes? Is it proportional? I'm Canadian.
posted by gman at 5:03 PM on November 4, 2008

What? Wolf Blitzer joined Jem and the Holograms???

That's truly outrageous!
posted by lilnemo at 5:04 PM on November 4, 2008

Wow. From 3 to 103 vs 34. Just like that.

Here we go!
posted by rand at 5:04 PM on November 4, 2008

Clearly there aren't enough people putting pie into the word train.

Come on people, ask not what the internet can do for you!
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 5:04 PM on November 4, 2008

Happy drinks for all!
posted by Free word order! at 5:05 PM on November 4, 2008

Am torn. CNN has better graphics, but Wolf Blitzer. MSNBC has Rachel Maddow. I can't wait till Stewart and Colbert come on.
posted by sugarfish at 5:06 PM on November 4, 2008

My first presidential election was in 1984, and this year was the shortest line yet. I've been in off-year elections with a longer line.

Since I live in a mostly poor, predominately black and Latino area with a growing number of upper-middle class twits, that worries me.

Diebold machines, too, here in MD. Gods, I hate Diebold.

And, now Auntie Beeb has gone tits up.

Gonna be a long night.
posted by QIbHom at 5:06 PM on November 4, 2008

Keep hope alive, fellow Okie.

Aaand Oklahoma called for McCain. No matter, for home-state rooting purposes, I'm a Coloradoan tonight. Who wants a SmashBurger and some extremely-hazily-defined regional cuisine? (Something about green chiles, possibly?)

PA!
posted by ormondsacker at 5:06 PM on November 4, 2008

Anyone looking for a meta-coverage station, as well as some awesome electro being spun by Diplo - turn the TV to Current.

No pundits. No holograms. Just some vector art shapes dancing to the music and the occasional Twitter message.
posted by Remy at 5:06 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

heading over to PoFi y'all. can't maintain two threads at once! Keep the faith
posted by nax at 5:06 PM on November 4, 2008

Is the Wolf Blitzer hologram any more surreal than MSNBC's Todd's virtual Olympian palace?

I really miss Russert's whiteboard.
posted by billyfleetwood at 5:06 PM on November 4, 2008

Moe: Oh, boy! The deep fryer's here. Heh heh, I got it used from the Navy. You can flash-fry a buffalo in forty seconds!

Homer: Ohhhhhhhh - forty seconds? But I want it now!

I know how you feel, buddy
posted by Flunkie at 5:06 PM on November 4, 2008

The Whole World Is Watching!

Video: Across the globe, all eyes are the the U.S. [02:10].
posted by ericb at 5:06 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Guys, both CNN and MSNBC have live streaming so you can do two windows if you don't mind watching on your PC.

(Also, Olberman and Blitzer cross-talking is sort of a fun mashup.)
posted by rokusan at 5:07 PM on November 4, 2008

I wrote: First time I voted for a Democrat for president since '92. I love early voting and got it over with weeks ago.

That's not true, although I almost forgot about Kerry. Anyway, Obama's the first candidate for president that I cared about, that's for sure. So, yeah, let's make it worth it.

BTW, Obama's projected in Penn. I think he's got it.
posted by krinklyfig at 5:08 PM on November 4, 2008

Florida's Ban on gay marriage is running around 59%. It requires 60% to pass.

Can I freak out yet?
posted by Lemurrhea at 5:08 PM on November 4, 2008

McCain below 6 on intrade. That's change we can believe in.
posted by drezdn at 5:09 PM on November 4, 2008

Mefi London TV - it's the place to be, with good chat, two mods on board, and lots of very handsome people: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/mefi-london-live
posted by adrianhon at 5:09 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

NPR just projected Pennsylvania for Obama.
posted by Toekneesan at 5:10 PM on November 4, 2008

Earlier this evening on MSNBC, Governor Rendell (of Pennsylvania) said something like "I congratulate Senator McCain for trying retail politics in Pennsylvania". He said something along those lines at least a couple times.

A minute ago, Chris Matthews said something like "You can't retail Pennsylvania. It doesn't work."

What is "retail politics"?
posted by Flunkie at 5:10 PM on November 4, 2008

"MSNBC just called Pennsylvania for Obama."

Here's the link!

As I was saying earlier about Pennsylvania's significance...

Ladies and gents, President Elect Barack Obama!
posted by markkraft at 5:11 PM on November 4, 2008

Just got back from East Chicago, Indiana... I have a feeling we're going to see something special from Lake County, IN. Almost every person I talked to (save one angry old man and two old ladies who said they were "too old to vote") told me they'd already voted for Obama or planned to do so today. Here we go!
posted by Hello, Revelers! I am Captain Lavender! at 5:11 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Hahaha - McCain campaign on BBC - "Not all the votes are counted in PA, there was a gas leak in one office that will have to stay open later". Hahahaha. Desperation!
posted by jaduncan at 5:11 PM on November 4, 2008

This election made me so proud of my spouse, who, knowing he would be in CA today, waited in line for FOUR HOURS on Saturday to cast his vote.

I voted today at our regular polling place, at noon, and the whole process took me no more than 20 minutes. I *almost* felt cheated.

There's an electricity and an enthusiasm today that I've never seen in any election since I was old enough to vote, and that's over 20 years now.

Oh, and ericb, I'm in Florida, and don't worry, I voted "Hell no!" to proposition 2. Take that, haters.
posted by misha at 5:11 PM on November 4, 2008

Right now I'm heading over to "pie" the NYT's Word Train!

PIE! PIE FOR OBAMA! MORE PIE ON WORD TRAIN! (And in mah stumack.)
posted by jeanmari at 5:12 PM on November 4, 2008

Florida's Ban on gay marriage is running around 59%. It requires 60% to pass.

Can I freak out yet?

Sadly, yes, because it only requires a 50% majority.

Nope, it's 60%
posted by Lemurrhea at 5:13 PM on November 4, 2008

Landslide, baby.
posted by fourcheesemac at 5:15 PM on November 4, 2008

How can I watch Stewart/Colbert live online?? HOPE ME.
posted by chuckdarwin at 5:15 PM on November 4, 2008

YES WE HAVE PIE!
posted by markkraft at 5:15 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

CNN, you're so magical! Don't ever stop showing me Republican boy-choirs singing crystalline hymns to John McCain, ever.
posted by Powerful Religious Baby at 5:16 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Please tell me the MSNBC PA call isn't from exit polling (which is pure bullshit) -- I see 0% reporting.
posted by The Bellman at 5:16 PM on November 4, 2008

Retail Politics: a type of political campaigning in which the candidate focuses on local events and meeting individual voters
Example: Retail politics is the old-fashioned shaking hands and kissing babies.
posted by Floydd at 5:17 PM on November 4, 2008

what is retail politics?

Main Entry: retail politics
Part of Speech: n
Definition: a type of political campaigning in which the candidate focuses on local events and meeting individual voters
Example: Retail politics is the old-fashioned shaking hands and kissing babies.
Etymology: orig referred to buying votes
Usage: informal; sing. or pl.
posted by killdevil at 5:17 PM on November 4, 2008

Dana Bash is scary looking. Her face is all features and no skin, like someone went a little nuts with Second Life avatar sliders . . .
posted by booksherpa at 5:17 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Say goodbye to Dole, apparently....
posted by jokeefe at 5:17 PM on November 4, 2008

Earlier this evening on MSNBC, Governor Rendell (of Pennsylvania) said something like "I congratulate Senator McCain for trying retail politics in Pennsylvania". He said something along those lines at least a couple times.

A minute ago, Chris Matthews said something like "You can't retail Pennsylvania. It doesn't work."

What is "retail politics"?

He means trying to lift the state far above his national numbers by going local so hard. Retail vs. wholesale.
posted by Bookhouse at 5:18 PM on November 4, 2008

McCain ticked up to 9 on intrade. WTF, Intrade?

It was 9 this morning, down to 5 now.

Looks like a lot of upward movement on Obama contracts -- IN up 31, MO up 25. NC up 14.6. VA is down a bit, though.
posted by dw at 5:18 PM on November 4, 2008

I AM Barack
THE President
posted by EarBucket at 5:18 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

OMG. I'm still at work. I need to go home now. There's NO way I'll be paying any attention to what I should be doing here.

/gratuitous placeholder.
posted by susanbeeswax at 5:19 PM on November 4, 2008

The Whole World Is Watching!

Damn sure (2am here).

Yours truly,
T.W. World.
posted by _dario at 5:20 PM on November 4, 2008

Floydd, you're fucking awesome even though you did just made me cry a little bit
posted by stefanie at 5:21 PM on November 4, 2008

What is "retail politics"?

One at a time, door to door, vote by vote. As opposed to defining big issues designed to capture big percentages at once, or endorsements by unions, etc (wholesale).
posted by rokusan at 5:22 PM on November 4, 2008

Say goodbye to Dole, apparently....

Very nice. I heard someone say this will be the first time in decades without a Bush or Dole in office.
posted by delmoi at 5:22 PM on November 4, 2008

Florida's Ban on gay marriage

It's worse than that, actually—it's a ban on any sort of marriage-like structures between any two people that creates a marriage-like situation.
posted by oaf at 5:23 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Was just talking to a friend from GA and she couldn't even vote, along with a whole host of other people. Word is, too many people changed voter registration locations before the deadline, but the State couldn't (didn't) register them all in time so a bunch of people got rejected at the voting poll. She and a host of people with the same issue raised hell, including calling CNN, the paper, and local TV stations....this was in Statesboro. Sad.
posted by jmd82 at 5:23 PM on November 4, 2008

Put Bush on the Dole?
posted by QIbHom at 5:23 PM on November 4, 2008

WTF? NYTimes has Obama leading in Texas? Is that even possible?
posted by jokeefe at 5:23 PM on November 4, 2008

Dammit, I'm so verklempt I forgot how to use grammar correctly. It's time for a happy election drink, I think.
posted by stefanie at 5:24 PM on November 4, 2008

Woo-Hoo! CBS calls Kagen over Dole!!
posted by Floydd at 5:24 PM on November 4, 2008

On Thursday I shattered my knee in a car accident. Now all I can do is lie here in my makeshift bed in the living room and obsess on the election. If I stay in the position I'm in, I can see the TV and the laptop cord reaches, but I'm really uncomfortable. If I roll on my side for a while, the laptop cord doesn't reach and I can't see the TV.

Guess what I'm picking. *sigh*

This is going to be a long night. I want to thank every single person who has posted in this thread for keeping me engaged and entertained through this long afternoon.
posted by anastasiav at 5:24 PM on November 4, 2008

And apparently, all the people with problems were registered Democrats.
posted by jmd82 at 5:24 PM on November 4, 2008

linux writes: Most of VA and FL counties will lean Republican. You have to wait for the urban/metropolitan-centric counties to report their polling numbers (seriously, the VA numbers are based on 22,000 rural voters).

Remembering back to the Jim Webb/Macaca Allen race of 2006, Virginia's more urban counties were not tallied until late late in the night. Here's a post from 2:32am with 8 districts not yet reported, meanwhile Allen had a slim lead only three hours earlier while we were waiting to hear back from the Richmond, Northern Virginia, and Virginia Beach areas.

I don't think that McCain/Obama will be as close as Allen/Webb, but it will take some time for the very strong Obama precincts to report their tallies. Meanwhile, don't worry about Virginia: it's a bellwether, but it's gonna take some time to report in.
posted by peeedro at 5:24 PM on November 4, 2008

BET News, baby!
posted by jaronson at 5:25 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Hoooo boy the internets are going to be sore tomorrow.
posted by Salvor Hardin at 5:25 PM on November 4, 2008 [4 favorites]

Right now I'm heading over to "pie" the NYT's Word Train!

PIE! PIE FOR OBAMA! MORE PIE ON WORD TRAIN! (And in mah stumack.)

It's SO much more fun to describe a McCain supporter's current state of mind in one word.
posted by gman at 5:25 PM on November 4, 2008

OBAMA LEADING HERE IN TEXAS! Sorry - I'm freaking out - but it's only 1% of the vote and will probably change. But it's so nice to see for a gal whose first vote went to Ann Richards in 1990.
posted by dog food sugar at 5:25 PM on November 4, 2008

1 hour. Midnight here. Time for first drinks. It is going to be a long night, but I want to be awake to feel it when the wave of joy and relief pours over the world.
posted by Free word order! at 9:59 PM on November 4
I'm watching this whole thing in the UK, staying up late, basically waiting for that sense of relief. But pretty early, what struck me from the coverage, and from comments here, is that there's an awful lot of people over in the US not waiting for the sense of relief that I am, but they're excited and energised by it all. They're not waiting for success for their man so they can sit back and relax. They're waiting for a starting pistol. And that makes this fantastic.
Just keep that going, alright?
posted by edd at 5:26 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

WTF? NYTimes has Obama leading in Texas? Is that even possible?

Check the County Map tab. Results are very sparse there so far.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 5:26 PM on November 4, 2008

On MSNBC they're showing Palm Beach County FLA with problems with ballots! People couldn't figure out how to do the Scantron
posted by birdherder at 5:26 PM on November 4, 2008

Sadly, yes, because it only requires a 50% majority.

Florida's Constitutional amendments require 60%. California's require 50%, because California is Crazyton.
posted by dirigibleman at 5:26 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

NY Times reports Obama leading in Texas but that seems weird to me. (No link, just go to the homepage - the whole thing's an interactive grpahic.)
posted by awfurby at 5:27 PM on November 4, 2008

There is no way Obama is carrying the state.

He may carry Harris county (H-town) which is the most populated county in the State. This has been THE topic of conversation for everyone for the past week.

I know. I'm dreaming. Let a girl dream. for just a few hours...
posted by dog food sugar at 5:28 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

I'm loving the BBC map, which refreshes automatically and has so far been a bit ahead of the TV - a first for the Beeb there, the net leading the Dimbleby.

America, I have everything crossed for you tonight.
posted by WPW at 5:28 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Right now I'm heading over to "pie" the NYT's Word Train!

PIE! PIE FOR OBAMA! MORE PIE ON WORD TRAIN! (And in mah stumack.)

How about 'MeFine'? I wonder if enough of us used that one, if we could get it up on the Big Word Board.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 5:29 PM on November 4, 2008

This racing to post comments and not spell checking is SO much more enjoyable.
posted by gman at 5:29 PM on November 4, 2008

MSNBC's calling Hagan in the NC Senate race.
posted by oaf at 5:31 PM on November 4, 2008

Just wondering, is this (or will this end up being) the most commented thread ever on Metafilter?
posted by Maishe at 5:31 PM on November 4, 2008

Here in St. Louis they're showing an enormous line at one of the polling locations in North County, a heavily African-American area. And the polls closed half an hour ago. Meanwhile, when I voted in conservative West County today, there was no wait and plenty of electronic and paper polling stations open.
posted by Locative at 5:32 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

I started with "fired-up", but "pie" is better. :)
posted by rokusan at 5:33 PM on November 4, 2008

Yay! Local news just said Hagan beat Dole for NC Senate seat.
posted by marxchivist at 5:33 PM on November 4, 2008

Is this (or will this end up being) the most commented thread ever on Metafilter?

Didn't the original Palin thread end up over 6,000?
posted by rokusan at 5:34 PM on November 4, 2008

I'm watching the BBC atm and the results are really slow to come in. I wish David Dimbleby would just turn to the camera and say, "Until we have more to say, here are some Benny Hill clips".
posted by urbanwhaleshark at 5:34 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Here in Birmingham, AL, my daughter (21 years old and this her first presidential election) and I arrived to vote at 6:40 AM and the line was long. I always vote early and the early bird crowd is always just a bunch of old white people like me. But today it was a very diverse crowd. I'm a lifelong liberal and seeing all the black and Asian and white people, the very young people mixed with the very old people, was just too much for me. I had tears running down my cheeks and a quivering chin. At first my daughter though it was my allergies, but then she asked me if I was crying. I couldn't tell her then how amazed and proud I was of all the human beings around us. I'm so glad this was my daughter's first presidential election.
posted by loosemouth at 5:35 PM on November 4, 2008

This racing to post comments and not spell checking is SO much more enjoyable.

If that was referring to my 'MeFine' suggestion, well a) I use my brain for spellchecking and b) the spelling was deliberate! As in answering the question they pose -- How do feel? -- with one word: MeFine. It's like a joke and a straight answer and an injokey meme and a floorwax all in one!
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 5:35 PM on November 4, 2008

Very nice. I heard someone say this will be the first time in decades without a Bush or Dole in office.

Well, that's only if you count governorships, I think. There were no Bushdoles in Federal office (major Federal office, at least) from June 11, 1996 to January 20, 2001.

Dubya as Governor of Texas is the only Bushdole left when Bob Dole retires in 1996. He gets them from there almost all the way to his Presidency, but not quite - he actually retired as Governor about a month before his Presidency (ostensibly to, ahem, "prepare"). But in the meantime Jeb Bush has become Governor of Florida, and carries them for that month.
posted by Flunkie at 5:35 PM on November 4, 2008

Maybe H-town and the Austinites came out in force...possible....
posted by Thistledown at 5:35 PM on November 4, 2008

YES! Dole down!!
posted by brain cloud at 5:35 PM on November 4, 2008

Thanks heyho. I now feel really good about my 19-year-old daughter down there.(Actually I'm incredibly proud that she has been so excited and involved, and that she knew what all the swing states were, and which were "must wins" She's apparently been paying attention.
posted by nax at 5:35 PM on November 4, 2008

Just wondering, is this (or will this end up being) the most commented thread ever on Metafilter?

A thread on the night in which Obama wins the election better have more comments than that fuckin' Palin one.
posted by gman at 5:35 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

I was nervous as hell an hour ago, but the butterflies have disappeared and it all feels so strangely wonderful right now. We may yet pull through these dark times!
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 5:36 PM on November 4, 2008

"And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire!

Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!"
posted by markkraft at 5:36 PM on November 4, 2008

Ah damn, Georgia went to McCain. It's one that Obama put some resources into in the closing days of the campaign.
posted by delmoi at 5:36 PM on November 4, 2008

Great detail of state by state voting tallies via US News and World Report
posted by jeanmari at 5:37 PM on November 4, 2008

This racing to post comments and not spell checking is SO much more enjoyable.

If that was referring to my 'MeFine' suggestion, well a) I use my brain for spellchecking and b) the spelling was deliberate! As in answering the question they pose -- How do feel? -- with one word: MeFine. It's like a joke and a straight answer and an injokey meme and a floorwax all in one!

HA! not at all, my fellow Canadian. I was being sincere.
posted by gman at 5:38 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Texas just went red (barely) on NYT. On one hand, I'd love to see Obama take Texas. On the other, it's too Mr. Spock with a goatee not to weird me out.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 5:38 PM on November 4, 2008

Stay the fuck in line, mefites, stay the fuck in line.
posted by cortex at 7:21 PM on November 4 [7 favorites -] [!]

2 hours later >>


Ok.. I hope you all are nice and drunk...


STAY THE FUCK IN LINE the musical
posted by xorry at 5:40 PM on November 4, 2008 [17 favorites]

Wave Adrian!
posted by i_cola at 5:40 PM on November 4, 2008

Now what's going on with this election thing?
posted by xorry at 5:40 PM on November 4, 2008

This is off topic:

HEY COMEDY CENTRAL, YOU FUCKING SUCK. HIRE AN BETTER IT STAFF, MOTHERFUCKERS.

[seriously, if radiohead can stream fullscreen, so can you guys. your foreign fans are pissed off right now, douchebags]
posted by chuckdarwin at 5:41 PM on November 4, 2008

xorry, that is so fucking great
posted by cortex at 5:42 PM on November 4, 2008

*waves back*

Yay!
posted by i_cola at 5:42 PM on November 4, 2008

“Seeing sharpshooters downtown earlier was kinda nutty. Jesus, I hope nothing nasty happens.”

Not on my watch.

The energy downtown man, wow
posted by Smedleyman at 5:42 PM on November 4, 2008

If I stay in the position I'm in, I can see the TV and the laptop cord reaches, but I'm really uncomfortable. If I roll on my side for a while, the laptop cord doesn't reach and I can't see the TV.


Oh, honey! I'm trying to reach my buddy Chris. He has an extension cord and will come over and plug it in for you.
posted by Floydd at 5:42 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Someone in the McCain campaign just told the BBC that Virginia is not looking good for them.
posted by WPW at 5:43 PM on November 4, 2008

Delmoi: In BBC world McCain campaign leader in Georgia is just now saying it doesn't look so good for them. Big cities are still coming.
posted by Free word order! at 5:44 PM on November 4, 2008

Went for a drive to pick up supper. The rural part of where I live is very pro-McCain. In the last week it seemed like McCain supporters decided to show their support by dramatically increasing the number of McCain signs they had out. In their defense, it might have been in response to people who had been driving around taking them.

Fortunately, signs can't vote.
posted by drezdn at 5:44 PM on November 4, 2008

Oh, could have been misheard Virginia.
posted by Free word order! at 5:45 PM on November 4, 2008

Here in Oakland, CA all we hear of is long lines, long waits...I spent about one minute till I got to vote, but this evening coming past the Cal campus my heart skipped, a line around the block, there we have it perhaps a controversy, voting machine problems, ahhh no just a Ben & Jerry's next to a Starbucks.
posted by pianomover at 5:45 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

For those of you who can't/don't want to join Ustream, you can join a fun Mefi channel with our very own Jessamyn at

chat1.ustream.tv on

#mefi-london-live
posted by adrianhon at 5:45 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Why the fuck are any of your Americans online? Get down to your local headquarters and soak up the atmosphere proper!

And shoot video to upload to youtube so the rest of us can watch your famous Democracy in action
posted by gomichild at 5:46 PM on November 4, 2008

oh, so this is where everybody's been hiding!
posted by UbuRoivas at 5:47 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Oh, honey! I'm trying to reach my buddy Chris. He has an extension cord and will come over and plug it in for you.

You're not going to believe this, but of the four adults in the house right now it had not occurred to a single one of us to break the extension cord out of the closet.

Mefi can solve any problem.
posted by anastasiav at 5:47 PM on November 4, 2008 [7 favorites]

xorry & MeFi London Live win the thread. Sorry Obama, you tried hard. See you all again in 2012...
posted by i_cola at 5:48 PM on November 4, 2008

Link for the stream for the Stewart/Colbert show please (if it's up yet)? I can't find the damn thing!
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 5:48 PM on November 4, 2008

I'm an American expat in England, and I've never been as homesick as I am now. I would give anything to be there when the election is called instead of here in bed with my laptop.
I did print out an 'I voted' sticker to wear to work tomorrow (if I decide to go). I sent back my absentee ballot back through certified mail two months ago. Not that it matters, since I voted in Tennessee for Obama.
posted by Wroksie at 5:48 PM on November 4, 2008

YES! Dole down!!

Where's your god now Libby?
posted by Pollomacho at 5:48 PM on November 4, 2008 [9 favorites]

I'm assuming it's western Texas, closer to Nevada and New Mexico. There is no way Obama is carrying the state.

Nevada is 2 full states away from Texas. This statement is the equivalent of saying "I can see Russia from my house! And that gives me foreign policy experience."
posted by clearly at 5:48 PM on November 4, 2008

Prefers to keep her Americans locked up in the cellar obviously....damn typos are contagious...
posted by gomichild at 5:49 PM on November 4, 2008

This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments

Just seeing if I can trip you guys up.
posted by cjorgensen at 5:50 PM on November 4, 2008 [5 favorites]

Have they done something to stifle Flickr outside the USA? I've not been able to access any photos at all for the whole day. Not that I'm...you know...following this thread in any way.
posted by Duug at 5:53 PM on November 4, 2008

Hi, London folks.
posted by chuckdarwin at 5:53 PM on November 4, 2008

I can't be the only one who is drunk and ignoring the news, can I?
posted by paisley henosis at 5:53 PM on November 4, 2008

On the BBC, Jeremy Vine is the worst advert for touch screen technology ever.
posted by i_cola at 5:54 PM on November 4, 2008

I just need to post to say I participated in the great MeFi election thread of 2008. And I voted absentee for Obama (among others) a week ago.
posted by Green With You at 5:54 PM on November 4, 2008

I can't be the only one who is drunk and ignoring the news, can I?

Yep, you pretty much are.
posted by TungstenChef at 5:54 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Link for the stream for the Stewart/Colbert show please (if it's up yet)? I can't find the damn thing!

TVU Network for Korea?
posted by gman at 5:54 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

What I would give to be within 5 miles of Grant Park tonight. It must be amazing.
posted by brain cloud at 5:55 PM on November 4, 2008

I'm find it difficult to applaud, jump up and down, play around with the maps as results come in, flipping among the various coverage, and reading this thread all at the same time. Maybe I should have considered a drinking game instead.
posted by effwerd at 5:56 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

"Song: Cotex - Stay The Fuck In Line
last image posted by kirkaracha "

Y'all might wanna proofread that youtubery, there.
posted by stet at 5:56 PM on November 4, 2008

CunningLinguist: Interestingly, the states I'm following, which are very red, the exit polls show significantly poorer performance for McCain than the earlier polls.

Take Oklahoma as a mind blowing example. Something like 10 or 15% worse in the exit polling than the pre-election polling. Arkansas also tightened up, but not by as much. (Too bad, Obama might have carried Arkansas if the deltas were the same as they seem to be in OK)
posted by wierdo at 5:56 PM on November 4, 2008

And keeping my verb forms consistent.
posted by effwerd at 5:57 PM on November 4, 2008

Betfair calling Virginia.

Here's the graph.
posted by dirigibleman at 5:57 PM on November 4, 2008

Argh! Betfair calling Indiana!
posted by dirigibleman at 5:58 PM on November 4, 2008

Argh, chat1.ustream.tv is saying all connections in use.

Someone get down to the server with some more tubes!
posted by JHarris at 5:58 PM on November 4, 2008

I have prepared a long, esoteric, incomprehensible rant in the unlikely event the mac takes it (he won't). Rest easy, my friends. You won't have to read it through your tears.
posted by ewkpates at 5:59 PM on November 4, 2008

Hi chuckdarwin! East End here.
posted by WPW at 5:59 PM on November 4, 2008

MSNBC: Chris Mathews to Tom Delay: "I like the way you hate, sir. The great thing about hating is you can really understand where a guy stands. There's no BS from you.
posted by anastasiav at 6:00 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

I'm actually impressed it took that long for someone to hit me on that :)

Correcting mefi about Texas is often a pointless battle, XQ. But we love you anyway. ;)
posted by dog food sugar at 6:00 PM on November 4, 2008

wierdo, fivethirtyeight.com cautions that exit polls usually favor the democratic candidate by quite a bit. That might explain it.
posted by Solon and Thanks at 6:00 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Gotta say, it's a damn shame that the American system has a mandatory two-term limit for Presidents. Given Bush's current popularity, it would have been great fun to see him either fall on his sword before the election, or else contest it and lose in a landslide.

Here in Australia, we had the immense pleasure last year to not only kick out the incumbent right-wing fucktards who had been running the country for more than a decade, but the sweetest part was to see Bush's partner in international crime - the lying rodent John Howard - lose his own seat; the first incumbent Prime Minister since 1929 to fail to even be re-elected to Parliament.
posted by UbuRoivas at 6:01 PM on November 4, 2008 [5 favorites]

"Song: Cotex - Stay The Fuck In Line
last image posted by kirkaracha "

Y'all might wanna proofread that youtubery, there.

Not tonight. It's anarchy.
posted by gman at 6:01 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Texas just went red (barely) on NYT.

Luckily I got my glorious screenshot of a pale blue Texas before it flipped. I can dream...
posted by marble at 6:02 PM on November 4, 2008

“And we'll be so excited and happy that we'll storm off and eat someone.”

Well, it can be better than a vibrator.
posted by Smedleyman at 6:02 PM on November 4, 2008

Fox has called Ohio for Obama.
posted by WPW at 6:02 PM on November 4, 2008

I'm drinking every time I hear the word "percent." Woo!
posted by ktrey at 6:02 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Crappers, not a surprise, but msnbc just called my state (KS) for McCain. I had this wild hope, but it was pretty freaking wild. I still plan to run shouting into the streets later tonight, though.
posted by donnagirl at 6:03 PM on November 4, 2008

Obama to win Ohio!!!?
posted by Rufus T. Firefly at 6:04 PM on November 4, 2008

I'm a little late commenting, but did anyone else just burst out into marvelous laughter when CNN debuted its hologram technology? It's needlessly amazing. As far as we've come in the past decade with Internet and connectivity and stuff, it's been a while since I was smacked with a "Holy crap, we're living in the 21st century!" moment. It was nice to get that chill of progress again.

Is anyone else waiting for the McCain team's hologram to issue Order 66?
posted by Servo5678 at 6:05 PM on November 4, 2008

MSNBC says to go order pizza, nothing more can be called until after 11 pm EST.

Airight....what are the proper pizza toppings for a Green?
posted by QIbHom at 6:05 PM on November 4, 2008

Does betfair know anything about anything? and where is this fox news call on ohio?
posted by craven_morhead at 6:05 PM on November 4, 2008

Be careful out there donnagirl!
posted by Mister_A at 6:05 PM on November 4, 2008

marble: Right there with you. I should have taken a screenshot.
posted by ktrey at 6:05 PM on November 4, 2008

Fox has called Ohio for Obama.

At this time only 5% of polls have reported... Could go either way.
posted by KokuRyu at 6:06 PM on November 4, 2008

donnagirl I feel your pain in my probable red state as well. But I'm safe hollering in my blue neighborhood.
posted by dog food sugar at 6:07 PM on November 4, 2008

Are the holos on the TV or the internets?
posted by Mister_A at 6:07 PM on November 4, 2008

Well, not ordering pizza unless anyone shows up. Was supposed to have 12 people here; they must have all gone downtown. I'll go make baba ganoush instead.
posted by nax at 6:08 PM on November 4, 2008

I've used this elsewhere, but I like saying it.

I'm hoping I'm watching history being made, and McCain and Palin being made history.
posted by JaredSeth at 6:10 PM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

I should have been clearer: the BBC said that Fox called Ohio, and Dimbleby is now backpedalling on that.
posted by WPW at 6:11 PM on November 4, 2008

>TVU Network for Korea?

Thanks gman, that's working for me. Thank goodness, a bit of light relieve won't go astray today. :)
posted by adamt at 6:12 PM on November 4, 2008

Does anyone know how Sean Tevis is doing?
posted by sevenyearlurk at 6:12 PM on November 4, 2008

Be careful out there donnagirl!

No worries, I'm in the "liberal" northeastern part of the state in a college town. Navigating drunken students will be my only challenge.
posted by donnagirl at 6:13 PM on November 4, 2008

Watch the Franken race here.
posted by gman at 6:13 PM on November 4, 2008

Results are starting to come in from "fake Virginia" It's gone from 55% for McCain to 51%. It'll probably take a while for results to come in. In '06, Webb was behind until the last few minutes, when he ended up winning by 500 votes or something, giving the Democrats 50 seats total.
posted by delmoi at 6:13 PM on November 4, 2008

Are the holos on the TV or the internets?

Here they are!
posted by Locative at 6:14 PM on November 4, 2008

Man, the Republicans are getting weeeird. In Austin, they're having their watching party in the ballroom at the Four Seasons, and they've literally walled the press off into another room so no one can film it.
posted by freshwater_pr0n at 6:14 PM on November 4, 2008

nax, I'll have some of that pizza of yours, especially if it's Chicago-style.

My new NYT word is "drunk."
posted by brain cloud at 6:14 PM on November 4, 2008

Hah! The BBC just pointed out that only Fox has called Ohio, "But that's Fox and they're not good enough. No, not good enough."
posted by Eddie Mars at 6:15 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Early rumours on the BBC that Florida is in the bag for Obama.
posted by Rufus T. Firefly at 6:15 PM on November 4, 2008

Yeah, no, it would be more like Eastern NM going red for West Texas rather than the other way around. That's oil country, cowboy.
posted by sugarfish at 6:16 PM on November 4, 2008

CNN Hologram

Hilarious.
posted by i_cola at 6:18 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Florida and North Carolina look like they'll go Obama's way. VA will probably flip too, IMO.
posted by delmoi at 6:18 PM on November 4, 2008

^♥_♥^♥_♥^♥_♥^♥_♥^♥_♥^♥_♥^♥_♥^♥_♥
^♥_♥^♥_♥^♥_♥^♥_♥^♥_♥^♥_♥^♥_♥^♥_♥
^♥_♥^♥_♥^♥_♥^♥_♥^♥_♥^♥_♥^♥_♥^♥_♥
^♥_♥^♥_♥^♥_♥^♥_♥^♥_♥^♥_♥^♥_♥^♥_♥
(happy)
posted by JHarris at 6:18 PM on November 4, 2008 [5 favorites]

Fuck. I wonder how long my dog can hold his piss for?
posted by gman at 6:18 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

So is it just me that can't connect to the BBC website for love nor money?
posted by anagrama at 6:19 PM on November 4, 2008

anagrama, I lost the BBC for a bit, but it is back.

Thank the gods. I just can't bring myself to trust the US media on anything.
posted by QIbHom at 6:20 PM on November 4, 2008

anagrama - I can get the BBC site just fine, it loads really fast.
posted by zarah at 6:20 PM on November 4, 2008

I think if Fox called OH, it means that all the polling (exit and otherwise) points to the same numbers they're getting in the actual vote.
posted by krinklyfig at 6:21 PM on November 4, 2008

Fox has called Ohio for Obama.

That's insane. What in the hell are you doing watching the election returns on FOX for?
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 6:21 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

What is this "based on results, exit polls, and other information" Blitzer is talking about? Anyone?
posted by gman at 6:21 PM on November 4, 2008

OH! OH! OH!
posted by vibrotronica at 6:22 PM on November 4, 2008

It's on the FoxNews home page: "FOX NEWS PROJECTS: Obama Wins Ohio"

I can't decide how to take that, however.
posted by rokusan at 6:22 PM on November 4, 2008

OHIO GOES OBAMA
posted by Flunkie at 6:22 PM on November 4, 2008

MSNBC CALLS OHIO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
posted by delmoi at 6:22 PM on November 4, 2008

OHIO!!!!!!!!!!!!
posted by aerotive at 6:22 PM on November 4, 2008

MSNBC also just called Ohio for Obama. It's real.
posted by rokusan at 6:23 PM on November 4, 2008

nbc calls Ohio for Obama!
posted by Bookhouse at 6:23 PM on November 4, 2008

OHIO for Obama, says MSNBC
posted by donnagirl at 6:23 PM on November 4, 2008

MSNBC projects Ohio for Obama.

Early yet.
posted by QIbHom at 6:23 PM on November 4, 2008

And Ohio redeems itself for 2004!!!
posted by HyperBlue at 6:23 PM on November 4, 2008

Why are they calling Michigan for Obama? The numbers I see don't come close to supporting that.
posted by 517 at 6:23 PM on November 4, 2008

Does anyone know how Sean Tevis is doing?

No results yet for Kansas State House District 15.
posted by Knappster at 6:23 PM on November 4, 2008

Way to go Oh-i-o.
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 6:23 PM on November 4, 2008

My favorite quote thus far, is this one from McCain's campaign manager from just a few mins ago :

Q: And the pick of Palin for you guys? Are you happy with that?
A: You know, well uh, I’m not going to do… there’ll be time for all the post-mortem in the race.

Sounds like they've pretty much given up defending "golly-gosh" Palin.
posted by revmitcz at 6:23 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

OH! OH! OH!
posted by vibrotronica

:D
posted by jessamyn at 6:24 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

This is fucking epic.

Also, no one told me how to pop a champagne cork as far as possible. The clock is ticking people.
posted by clearly at 6:24 PM on November 4, 2008

I | Ohio!
posted by drezdn at 6:24 PM on November 4, 2008

It's on the FoxNews home page: "FOX NEWS PROJECTS: Obama Wins Ohio"

I can't decide how to take that, however.

Yeah. Just cause FOX is reporting something we wanna hear, doesn't mean we should now start trusting them.
posted by gman at 6:24 PM on November 4, 2008

BBC projects Ohio for Obama.
posted by WPW at 6:24 PM on November 4, 2008

What is this "based on results, exit polls, and other information" Blitzer is talking about?

During commercials he sits in his special hibernation chair and talks to the Emperor.
posted by rokusan at 6:24 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

If MSNBC is correct on all their calls so far, and all the states they haven't called yet go the same way they did in 2004, the final total will be Obama 271, McCain 266.

Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
posted by Flunkie at 6:24 PM on November 4, 2008

MSNBC just called Ohio....


Oh

H

I


Oooooooooooobama!!!!
posted by Otis at 6:24 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

That's it. That's basically it. He's won Ohio and and PA. He's pretty much got it in the bag, unless something very unusual happens.
posted by delmoi at 6:25 PM on November 4, 2008

Damn you Be Unlimited.
posted by anagrama at 6:25 PM on November 4, 2008

You know what? Let's NOT listen in to Hank Williams, Jr.
posted by unknowncommand at 6:25 PM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

517, it's because McCain gave up on Michigan weeks ago.
posted by sugarfish at 6:25 PM on November 4, 2008

BBC calls Ohio for Obama
posted by Duug at 6:25 PM on November 4, 2008

Woooohooooo!
posted by diogenes at 6:25 PM on November 4, 2008

MSNBC also called Ohio for Obama just now.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 6:25 PM on November 4, 2008

Shake it up and twist the cap off.
posted by stavrogin at 6:25 PM on November 4, 2008

ABC: Ohio to Obama!
posted by longsleeves at 6:26 PM on November 4, 2008

The BBC calls our state-level electoral votes?
posted by Tehanu at 6:26 PM on November 4, 2008

MSNBC predicts FL for Obama.
posted by krinklyfig at 6:26 PM on November 4, 2008

Ohio. It's over.
posted by tepidmonkey at 6:26 PM on November 4, 2008

And the beer is on me!
posted by theCroft at 6:27 PM on November 4, 2008

“Can't blame him for the haircut though, it's a genetic Serbian thing, it's ridiculously thick and there's nothing you can do with it.”

Ok. Fair enough. I hear from the state troopers he’s a pretty nice guy in person. Seems to love his kids and family, too.
Still, it’s not just the haircut, he dresses like a hockey coach.
I mean, I don’t like his policies, so nothing really personal, but I honestly expect to see him in plaid pants at some point talking to Gordie Howe on where you can get a rub and a tug around here, eh?
posted by Smedleyman at 6:27 PM on November 4, 2008

That hologram shit on CNN is killing me for some reason. Did I miss the obligatory "Obi-Wan, you are my only hope" joke?

Woo hoo, Ohio for Obama. Come on North Carolina!
posted by marxchivist at 6:27 PM on November 4, 2008

20 bucks says McCain delivers his concession speech by hologram.
posted by gman at 6:27 PM on November 4, 2008 [4 favorites]

I'm sorry to repeat myself, but:

Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
posted by Flunkie at 6:28 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

That horrid moustachio Bolton is on BBC studio trying to tag 'leftist radical'-angle on Obama, but some historian put him to his place. He sure looks grumpy.
posted by Free word order! at 6:29 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Solon and Thanks: Not so much in the two states I'm talking about, and even then, the error tends to be only a few points one way or the other.
posted by wierdo at 6:29 PM on November 4, 2008

My favorite part of the night here in Missouri - dragging my mouse over the map and reminding myself that all of those 60-70% Republican counties have as many votes total as the most psychotic third party candidates will get in St. Louis or Kansas City.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 6:29 PM on November 4, 2008

Over! We won! Yes we did!
posted by fourcheesemac at 6:29 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

At this point McCain is going to need to take Florida, Indiana, North Carolina, and Canada to win.
posted by Salvor Hardin at 6:30 PM on November 4, 2008 [36 favorites]

That's it. Simple arithmetic. President Obama.
posted by telstar at 6:30 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Yeah, looks really good, but people on the west coast who haven't voted should still vote, please.
posted by krinklyfig at 6:30 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

gman: Awesome.
posted by ktrey at 6:30 PM on November 4, 2008

It's over. It's a landslide. I think the question, at this point, is how big of a landslide it's going to be. Is it going to be a landslide that merely gets Obama elected, or is it going to be a landslide that represents a fundamental shift in the political character of this country? I firmly believe that it will be the latter.
posted by joedan at 6:30 PM on November 4, 2008

Yeah, I'm kind of embarrassed at how much the Brits and Canadians know about the Electoral College. I feel like I'm going to have to figure out the parliamentary system now.
posted by JoanArkham at 6:31 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

I | New Mexico!
posted by drezdn at 6:31 PM on November 4, 2008

And MSNBC calls New Mexico for Obama.
posted by rand at 6:32 PM on November 4, 2008

He's pretty much got it in the bag, unless something very unusual happens.

Oh yeah and that NEVER happens... :/
posted by rokusan at 6:32 PM on November 4, 2008

Right there with you. I should have taken a screenshot.

screenshot of a pale blue Texas (at nytimes.com) at 7:42 pm Central time

hope that helps! mefimail me if you want the .bmp
posted by marble at 6:33 PM on November 4, 2008 [5 favorites]

20 bucks says McCain delivers his concession speech by hologram.

The man can't handle the internets, and you expect him to master holographic technology?
posted by the littlest brussels sprout at 6:33 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

New Mexico flipped from red to blue. If all uncalled go as they went in 2004, Obama 277, McCain 261.
posted by Flunkie at 6:33 PM on November 4, 2008

The BBC calls our state-level electoral votes?

Actually it's too classy to call states, it projects states. It's all over BBC1 now. BUt you have to remember that it's 2.30am here, so it's not exactly eating into primetime.
posted by WPW at 6:33 PM on November 4, 2008

Dammit! What am I going to do with all these Sore/Loserman signs!?
posted by robocop is bleeding at 6:33 PM on November 4, 2008

I'm the last one left in the office.

Which means there's nothing on earth to stop me from skipping up and down the halls singing the Bassets for Obama song.

This, I am now doing.
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 6:33 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

I think most of what we're seeing are just projections gang. Nothing can be called when there's less than 5% of the vote counted.
posted by dejah420 at 6:34 PM on November 4, 2008

FWIW, sadly the incumbent Sheriff of Lee County, FL, Mike "Barack HUSSEIN Obama!" Scott, looks to hold onto his job. 75% of the vote counted so far (90% in).
posted by contessa at 6:34 PM on November 4, 2008

MSNBC calls my state NM for Obama. He came to Española twice, which is remarkable for such a little town, but so essential to get the northern NM vote (heavily Dem, but heavily tilted to Clinton in the primaries and not entirely trusting of Obama at first). I knew he had it at that point. If you visit Española, you have the Dem vote up to the CO border.
posted by krinklyfig at 6:34 PM on November 4, 2008

OHIO!

(and New Mexio, the nail in McCain's coffin)

But I will continue to be obsessed because I want to see McCain lose Arizona. He may have been a decent guy at one point, but the way he has conducted himself... let there be justice in the universe!!
posted by bumpkin at 6:34 PM on November 4, 2008

Is it going to be a landslide that merely gets Obama elected, or is it going to be a landslide that represents a fundamental shift in the political character of this country?

50% of the popular vote is still going for McCain. This is not a fundamental shift. Reagan won 50% of the popular vote in 1980, versus about 40% for Jimmy Carter. That was a fundamental shift in the character of the nation.
posted by KokuRyu at 6:35 PM on November 4, 2008

CNN just called Ohio for Senator President-elect Barack Obama.
posted by Rhaomi at 6:35 PM on November 4, 2008

Yeah, I'm kind of embarrassed at how much the Brits and Canadians know about the Electoral College. I feel like I'm going to have to figure out the parliamentary system now.
Here's how it works. We all go to the polls, vote for a party, and in each region whoever is first past the post gets elected.
Then we decide the head of state by an accident of birth. Much simpler.
posted by edd at 6:35 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

I figured out the hologram thing. Basically, it is so they could make this joke:

"Ohio is projecting Obama, and I, Wolf Blitzer, am projecting Jessica Yellin."
posted by Joey Michaels at 6:36 PM on November 4, 2008 [4 favorites]

The senate seat that Hagan picked in NC has not been held by a Democrat since 1972 when Jesse Helms got it. Makes it all the more sweet.
posted by marxchivist at 6:36 PM on November 4, 2008

Black Panthers? My God man, shouldn’t they be in zoos?
...oh, I see, the radical group... Aren’t most of those guys about 70 years old? I don’t see them intimidating anyone really. They could gum a guy pretty badly I suppose...but then how do you make sure someone votes for your guy once they’re in the anonymity of the booth?

smedleyman, the dudes at the polling place are "New Black Panthers." Appropriating the name of the Black Panthers to engage in intimidation and anti-white extremism. Recent article here.
posted by desuetude at 6:36 PM on November 4, 2008

gman said: What is this "based on results, exit polls, and other information" Blitzer is talking about? Anyone?

His uncle Chet. He likes the cut of Obama's jib.
posted by purephase at 6:36 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Poor Chuck Todd, he's just demonstrated how adding in the three west coast states gives Obama the win, but he's clearly not even allowed to say the number 270 out loud. All he can do is gesture at the virtual screen and say "You can see for yourself what that means."
posted by Horace Rumpole at 6:36 PM on November 4, 2008

I really don't want to get ahead of myself but damn I am flipping my shit right now.
posted by puke & cry at 6:36 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

If Florida and North Carolina go for Obama and Virginia doesn't, that will be an interesting twist.
posted by effwerd at 6:37 PM on November 4, 2008

Well damn, I'm going to have to retire the "First Kent State, Now This - Thanks a Lot, Ohio" hat I created for my inert Cafe Press store after 2004 (I think I actually sold one). Way to go, Ohio!
posted by nanojath at 6:37 PM on November 4, 2008

But will he wear the cloak and speak with a rasp?
posted by baphomet at 6:37 PM on November 4, 2008

At this point McCain is going to need to take Florida, Indiana, North Carolina, and Canada to win.

Well, Canada totally leans McCain. The rest I'm not so sure.
posted by delmoi at 6:37 PM on November 4, 2008

Obama wins the first presidential election of the new Star Wars era. We're at a moment in history people.
posted by i_cola at 6:38 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

MSNBC just cutely didn't call Obama above 270. Kind of a "we all know he's going to win, but since polls are still open, we won't call it" thing.
posted by QIbHom at 6:38 PM on November 4, 2008

Ok, I might have missed this upthread, but I am wiped out from canvassing so the neurons aren't firing as rapidly as usual. I just saw CNN call Ohio for Obama (fuck yeah!), but then they show that only 15% of the precincts are reporting. Can someone please explain to me how these two things reconcile?
posted by shiu mai baby at 6:38 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Woo! Tom Udall projected to win Senate. He's a good guy, great Rep. for my part of NM.
posted by krinklyfig at 6:38 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

West Coast please don't forget to vote, you can do blow and get prostate massages tomorrow as well. Love you guys, No on 8!
posted by Divine_Wino at 6:38 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Actually, I just switched over to Fox because I wanted to see their reaction to the meltdown, and I caught them as they essentially announced the death knell of the modern Republican movement.

Brit Hume was seriously dour and dark when he called Ohio for Obama, with circles around his eyes and his jowls hanging down like a bassett hound who just got called out for pissing on the couch.

Turdblossom was by his side talking statistics, unemotionally dissecting the rotting corpse of Republicanism that he helped leave on the slab, with the kind of "I'm not the least bit responsible for this... I was just following orders!" professional detatchment that all good war criminals display.

It's not as sweet as the tears of Hannity, but I'll take it.
posted by markkraft at 6:38 PM on November 4, 2008 [5 favorites]

What's this? I still see the popular vote 50/49 split.

Bloody hell, what's wrong with people...
posted by rodgerd at 6:39 PM on November 4, 2008

MSNBC CALLS OHIO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Don't believe anything unless you hear it from a hologram.
posted by Servo5678 at 6:39 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Bananafish and I are in Paris right now and we're gonna stay up all night keeping our neighbors awake cheering. O HI O! WOOO!

(Just had to post in the most historcalist metafilter thread evar!)
posted by jewzilla at 6:39 PM on November 4, 2008

Heh, some guy on the Beeb has just demanded that they call the election already because of Ohio. :-)
posted by Duug at 6:39 PM on November 4, 2008

I voted for Obama. I also found out that a co-worker who I barely knew, but had a few good luchtime conversations with, OD'd last night leavinga wife and six year old daughter. RIP, Ben.

Among the street people selling me books at the Famous Used Bookstore, many of them were genuinely thrilled at the prospect of President Obama. One said "Don't matter to me. Whoever wins I still gotta sleep under the bridge tonight." I suppose he has a point, but I'm still glad things seem to be going the right way. My faith in my country seems to be being rewarded.
posted by jonmc at 6:39 PM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

krinklyfig, I'm so glad about Udall! I would have loved for him to be my rep. In fact, all of the results from NM are making me super happy tonight!
posted by sugarfish at 6:40 PM on November 4, 2008

BERLIN OLYMPICS '36 - A SHORT PLAY

Lights up on John McCain sitting alone in the Senate. Enter Mitt Romney. Long, awkward silence.

MITT: So....

Another long, awkward silence.

MITT: Sarah Palin?

JOHN: I know, I know.

Blackout.
posted by Joey Michaels at 6:41 PM on November 4, 2008 [7 favorites]

They'll call the election when the West Coast closes. It's over.

You have until 8pm PST, 11pm EST, 0400 GMT to procure champagne! GO GO GO!!!
posted by dw at 6:42 PM on November 4, 2008

MSNBC's map looks a bit like the Civil War breakdown (with WV on the wrong side).
posted by drezdn at 6:42 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

"Crying isn't going to bring the dog back ... unless your tears smell like dog food." - Homer Simpson
posted by Floydd at 6:42 PM on November 4, 2008

I for one, welcome our new overlord.

l a n d s l i d e .
posted by gman at 6:43 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Ah Jon, sorry.
posted by Divine_Wino at 6:43 PM on November 4, 2008

I.... this....




this is awesome. I heard this knocking about somewhere, can anyone verify that we'll be the first country to elect a racial minority president?
posted by craven_morhead at 6:44 PM on November 4, 2008

John King is on CNN saying "there is no way McCain can win", basically he's saying that McCain would need to win California, Oregon and Washington in order to get to 270 EC votes. Even if McCain wins New mexico (which MSNBC has already called) and Iowa, which he is way ahead in.
posted by delmoi at 6:44 PM on November 4, 2008

Unless the calls so far are wrong, McCain has to flip (from blue to red) at least one of California, Oregon, or Washington. Those are the only ways left for him to win.

The only other state that he could possibly flip is Hawaii, and flipping that wouldn't give him enough electoral votes.
posted by Flunkie at 6:44 PM on November 4, 2008

Roger Wilkins on ABS is talking about how his grandson is going to grow up very differently then he did, tears in his eyes. It's very emotional.
posted by dog food sugar at 6:44 PM on November 4, 2008

We have the facts and we're voting CHANGE.
posted by dw at 6:44 PM on November 4, 2008

Oops I mean Obama is way ahead in Iowa. (just to clarify).

McCain has pretty much lost. No way.
posted by delmoi at 6:45 PM on November 4, 2008

omg.
posted by exlotuseater at 6:45 PM on November 4, 2008

This.

This.


It soothes me.
posted by The Whelk at 6:45 PM on November 4, 2008

Toast
posted by Joey Michaels at 6:46 PM on November 4, 2008 [7 favorites]

Man, John Bolton is a dick.
posted by fullerine at 6:46 PM on November 4, 2008 [4 favorites]

Ohh, the motorcade went by me a few minutes ago. Extra cool.
posted by a robot made out of meat at 6:47 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

wow.
posted by milestogo at 6:47 PM on November 4, 2008

heard this knocking about somewhere, can anyone verify that we'll be the first country to elect a racial minority president?

Depends how you define minority. Apartheid South Africa off the top of my head.
posted by empath at 6:47 PM on November 4, 2008

This isn't very contributive, but I'm so happy right now. I feel like America has been saved. Hyperbolic, yes, but I can't help it.
posted by tepidmonkey at 6:47 PM on November 4, 2008

Ah Jon, sorry.

Like I said, I only knew him casually ( I found out first via a rumor that somebody who worked there had passed and then who it was from a notice on the bulletin board with a picture) He still seemed like a good guy and I feel bad for his family.
posted by jonmc at 6:48 PM on November 4, 2008

this is awesome. I heard this knocking about somewhere, can anyone verify that we'll be the first country to elect a racial minority president?

Obama will be the first black president outside of Africa, with the exception IIRC of one south American country with a 40% black population -- or something like that.
posted by delmoi at 6:48 PM on November 4, 2008

McCain is trading at 1 on intrade.
posted by drezdn at 6:49 PM on November 4, 2008

You should wait for the scientifical truth. Don't let holograms lie to you.
posted by Crabby Appleton at 6:49 PM on November 4, 2008

It's so frustrating that they're keeping the R2 unit off-camera.
posted by Sys Rq at 6:49 PM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

Soon, soon Sarah Palin will get the fuck out of my secret Christmas place for good and go back to the sovereign nation of Alaskastan. Yes, she can.
posted by FelliniBlank at 6:50 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Among the street people selling me books at the Famous Used Bookstore, many of them were genuinely thrilled at the prospect of President Obama.

Roughly 70% of the 'regulars,' borderline street people are black guys in their 50's and 60's, guys who can remeber the bad old days clearly. I can't imagine how gratifying this must be for them.
posted by jonmc at 6:50 PM on November 4, 2008

How about electing a racial minority when everyone can vote?
posted by craven_morhead at 6:50 PM on November 4, 2008

I heard this knocking about somewhere, can anyone verify that we'll be the first country to elect a racial minority president?

No, not at all. This is great and everything and YAY OBAMA, but still. Without even thinking about it, I can come up with Alberto Fujimori as a counterexample, or the current president of Bolivia, Evo Morales.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 6:50 PM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

the dudes at the polling place are "New Black Panthers."

Those must have been the vicious thugs I saw menacing the polling place here in DC by doing violent acts like helping old ladies get up the stairs and passing out water bottles and folding chairs.
posted by Pollomacho at 6:50 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

I can't be the only one who is drunk and ignoring the news, can I?

I'm drunk AND watching the news!

I have two friends helping me process the results and I'm still not doing a good job, but I'm watching!
posted by winna at 6:50 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

I heard this knocking about somewhere, can anyone verify that we'll be the first country to elect a racial minority president?

Given that New Zealand and the United Kingdom both had Jews occupying the highest elected political positions in the 19th Century (Disraeli and Vogel), no. That's off the top of my head.
posted by rodgerd at 6:51 PM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

What's this? I still see the popular vote 50/49 split.

The count is way early. And the west coast is heavily blue.
posted by krinklyfig at 6:52 PM on November 4, 2008

McCain is at NaN% on Betfair.
posted by dirigibleman at 6:52 PM on November 4, 2008

Is it premature to start talking Inauguration Day meetup in DC?
posted by brain cloud at 6:52 PM on November 4, 2008

The senate seat that Hagan picked in NC has not been held by a Democrat since 1972 when Jesse Helms got it. Makes it all the more sweet.

Yeah, makes you wish he was still around to see all this the miserable racist fuck.
posted by Rangeboy at 6:52 PM on November 4, 2008 [4 favorites]

Wait a minute...it is 3 hours past when I usually walk my dog. Why is he not asking for a walk?

He didn't sleep through the Canadian election...
posted by QIbHom at 6:52 PM on November 4, 2008

fivethirtyeight.com: Obama to become next President.

!
posted by emelenjr at 6:53 PM on November 4, 2008

Obama is up in Ohio by 9... 9!

Canada is fucking proud of you, yanks.
posted by WinnipegDragon at 6:53 PM on November 4, 2008

Thanks for the info on the racial minority bit; my friend is now educated.
posted by craven_morhead at 6:53 PM on November 4, 2008

Say it with me, people.

Surely, this, THIS, will be the thing that brings down the bush administration!
posted by stet at 6:53 PM on November 4, 2008 [62 favorites]

You have until 8pm PST, 11pm EST, 0400 GMT to procure champagne! GO GO GO!!!

Um, the West Coast doesn't stop at the Pacific Time Zone. It stretches all the way to within 7 miles of Russia, doncha know? Thanks, but no thanks, you've got until 1 AM Eastern to get yer bubbly. *winks*
posted by Pollomacho at 6:54 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Those must have been the vicious thugs I saw menacing the polling place here in DC by doing violent acts like helping old ladies get up the stairs and passing out water bottles and folding chairs.

Seriously. Here in NYC everybody was very friendly and civil, even the woman in the McCain t-shirt (and more power to her, freedom of expression and all that). Let the system work, folks.
posted by jonmc at 6:54 PM on November 4, 2008

Maori James Carroll was Acting Prime Minister in New Zealand in 1909. You can't really compare Westminster-style PM's with the US presidency, but arguably he counts too - PM's are selected by their party's caucus in the parliament, which has got to be as democratic as being selected by an electoral college, yes?
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 6:54 PM on November 4, 2008

It's 5 a.m. here, there will be a blackout in my area and I'm not going to bed till Virginia flips to Obama (come ooon) or it's 5 minutes to blackout. Come on, do it!

I can't believe I will lose all coverage after that.
posted by ersatz at 6:55 PM on November 4, 2008

chris shays just conceded
posted by horsemuth at 6:55 PM on November 4, 2008

At this point I think it's safe to say -

Metafilter: You shall taste manflesh!
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 6:55 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

I'm watching Fox News on and off just for the dirge-like atmosphere. Kind of reminds me of watching footage of glum Tories booted out as Blair won in 97.
posted by carter at 6:55 PM on November 4, 2008

heard this knocking about somewhere, can anyone verify that we'll be the first country to elect a racial minority president?

Depends how you define minority. Apartheid South Africa off the top of my head.

Well, that would be using a pretty poor definition of "elected", in my opinion.

Without even thinking about it, I can come up with Alberto Fujimori as a counterexample, or the current president of Bolivia, Evo Morales.

Morales is Amerindian, and Amerindians are the majority in Bolivia.
posted by Flunkie at 6:56 PM on November 4, 2008

Obama will be the first black president outside of Africa, with the exception IIRC of one south American country with a 40% black population -- or something like that.

He's not African, he's American.

If you mean "national leader of African descent", the Carribean has been chock full of them.
posted by rodgerd at 6:57 PM on November 4, 2008

He did it!
posted by ersatz at 6:57 PM on November 4, 2008

I heard that when McCain was but a wee lad, he was taken to a swanky White House soiree where he met Calvin Coolidge. Having heard of Coolidge's famous economy of words, he approached the President and said, "I bet a friend of my daddy that I could get you to say three words to me."

Coolidge looked down at him from his gimlet, inhaled, and said, "You lose."

My friends, Coolidge's other, less-known talent, was for prognostication.
posted by m0nm0n at 6:58 PM on November 4, 2008 [5 favorites]

The United States is once again that shining city on the hill.
posted by Mick at 6:58 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

You can't really compare Westminster-style PM's with the US presidency, but arguably he counts too - PM's are selected by their party's caucus in the parliament, which has got to be as democratic as being selected by an electoral college, yes?

Well, it's equivalent in being the highest political office in the country.
posted by rodgerd at 6:58 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Minority president? Well, Canada doesn't have presidents, but they've had a number of Quebecois prime ministers. Who could ever forget the iminitable Pierre Trudeau?
posted by QIbHom at 6:58 PM on November 4, 2008

Virginia just flipped on the NYT map.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 6:59 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Virginia just flipped to blue on the NYT map, at 49.7 to 49.4 for Obama, with 65% yet to declare in Fairfax County (300,000 people, who favor Obama so far by a 14 point margin).

This is a good night.
posted by peachfuzz at 6:59 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Virginia has just flipped to Obama.
posted by maxwelton at 6:59 PM on November 4, 2008

Iowa!
posted by Bookhouse at 7:00 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

You guys forgot about Poland and their 35 electoral votes.
posted by clearly at 7:01 PM on November 4, 2008 [6 favorites]

stevis is in a dogfight in #15!!!
posted by milkrate at 7:01 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

And I thought the Red Sox winning the World Series was a thrill. This day kicks all kinds of ass.
posted by toastedbeagle at 7:01 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

I heard this knocking about somewhere, can anyone verify that we'll be the first country to elect a racial minority president?

Given that New Zealand and the United Kingdom both had Jews occupying the highest elected political positions in the 19th Century (Disraeli and Vogel), no. That's off the top of my head.

Juan Evo Morales Ayma, the President of Bolivia since 2006, is that country's first fully indigenous head of state since the Spanish Conquest.
posted by KokuRyu at 7:01 PM on November 4, 2008

The BBC has Virginia on an absolute knife-edge and Obama ahead in NC and Iowa. Which is interesting. VA has done nothing but get closer and closer.

I heard this knocking about somewhere, can anyone verify that we'll be the first country to elect a racial minority president?

Do Scottish PMs count?
posted by WPW at 7:01 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

CNN predicts Iowa for Obama. Kansas and Utah for McCain, which was expected.
posted by krinklyfig at 7:01 PM on November 4, 2008

I just got home from working the polling stations here in Texas. Whew, what a day!
posted by SaintCynr at 7:01 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Californians, please still go to the polls. Proposition 8 needs to be voted down.
posted by Joey Michaels at 7:01 PM on November 4, 2008 [4 favorites]

I can't be the only one who is drunk and ignoring the news, can I?

I'm drunk AND watching the news!

Yeah well, I'm drunk, watching the news, typing, AND about to cream my pants.
posted by gman at 7:01 PM on November 4, 2008

carter: "I'm watching Fox News on and off just for the dirge-like atmosphere. Kind of reminds me of watching footage of glum Tories booted out as Blair won in 97."

I'm watching Fox News with the sound off and listening to NPR, the two inputs cancel each other out quite nicely leaving me in a warm cocoon of pretty colors and soft murmuring voices. But that could also be the whiskey.
posted by Science! at 7:02 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Morales is Amerindian, and Amerindians are the majority in Bolivia.

Given he was the first elected, that would make all of Bolivia's previously-elected presidents minority members?
posted by rodgerd at 7:02 PM on November 4, 2008

And Iowa.
LOVING THIS
posted by penduluum at 7:02 PM on November 4, 2008

Obama's now leading in VA, still leading in FL, still leading in N Carolina.
posted by krinklyfig at 7:02 PM on November 4, 2008

I for one, welcome our new overlord.

landslide .

This election has gone a long way toward restoring my my faith in American democracy, which has been sorely tested over the past 8 years. If things continue to go the way they have so far, I expect President Obama (wow it is cool to write that) to be far more gracious towards his opposition than has been the norm. I voted for Obama weeks ago (early voting) based on his policies, thought he was a better leader, and so forth. But tonight, I also feel excited that I will be able to tell my children and grandchildren that I helped elect the first black president (even if I did nothing more than vote for him in a state he wouldn't have won anyway). The folks on the other side will have to content themselves with saying "I tried to keep old white guys in power to the bitter end."

There is a bottle of Champagne awaiting McCain's concession, assuming it comes before I go to bed-I do still have to work in the morning.
posted by TedW at 7:02 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

MSNBC: Iowa flips red to blue.

If all uncalled states stay as in 2004, Obama 284, McCain 254.

McCain now must either flip California, or else flip both Washington and one of Oregon or Hawaii.
posted by Flunkie at 7:03 PM on November 4, 2008

Stewart and Colbert just began!
posted by gman at 7:03 PM on November 4, 2008

Do Scottish PMs count?

Ah! Well, in that case, Lloyd George's native language was Welsh.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 7:03 PM on November 4, 2008

TDS Indecision 08 IT's ON!
posted by paisley henosis at 7:03 PM on November 4, 2008

My roommate wants to know why the Dole/Hagan race is a BFD? (I have no idea.)

A few reasons:

1. As pointed out above, it's Jesse Helms' old seat.
2. It's connected to the broader trends of Dems making inroads in formerly reliable GOP strongholds.
3. Dole was widely expected a few months ago to sail to victory.
4. When it became clear she was in danger of losing, she unleashed one of the sleaziest ad campaigns in North Carolina's history (and again, this is the state that repeatedly voted for Helms.)

All in all, I'm feeling unusually proud of my state tonight. I hope that faith will continue to be rewarded as the night rolls on...
posted by Rangeboy at 7:03 PM on November 4, 2008

Obama leading in CO, but it's very early, though. Indiana is within 5000.
posted by krinklyfig at 7:04 PM on November 4, 2008

Grant Park is going INSANE
posted by nax at 7:04 PM on November 4, 2008

If Obama pulls Virginia, North Carolina AND Florida, I don't even know if tears could do my emotions justice. But they'll do.

America, I love you.

WORLD, I love you.

Let's do this right.
posted by brain cloud at 7:04 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

He's not African, he's American.

If you mean "national leader of African descent", the Carribean has been chock full of them.

He's African-American. And uh, either way he's black. The point I was trying to make was that Obama would be the first black president in a country that was not majority black (And I had forgotten that there were some majority black countries outside of Africa. And the other country, in south America had a very large black minority, like 40% or so.).
posted by delmoi at 7:04 PM on November 4, 2008

I want to see one of these infamous McCain temper tantrums... a la 48 Hours.

TURN THE MACHINES BACK ON!
posted by chuckdarwin at 7:04 PM on November 4, 2008

The President of France is the son of a Hungarian.
posted by Flunkie at 7:04 PM on November 4, 2008

heard this knocking about somewhere, can anyone verify that we'll be the first country to elect a racial minority president?

Saddam Hussein won his elections. Once he even garnered 100% of the vote.
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 7:05 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Seriously. Here in NYC everybody was very friendly and civil, even the woman in the McCain t-shirt (and more power to her, freedom of expression and all that). Let the system work, folks.

I was very annoyed at the Park Slope yuppie lady that spent an extra two minutes chatting with the poll workers before and after she went into the booth, dragging her one year old who doesn't understand not shitting in his pants, let alone electoral politics, while hundreds of people sweated their asses off in the line behind her. I did mutter strongly, but I was generally so cheerful anyway that we can just chalk that up to my frustration with Park Slope Solipsism.

This sounds like a pretty big moment and I'm proud and happy with my vote, now Barry O has to do something with himself. Good Work Friends, don't slack off on the pressure for this man to uphold progressive values.
posted by Divine_Wino at 7:05 PM on November 4, 2008

As far as I can tell, "Live blogging" means "typing about whilst drunk;" and I am "liveblogging" Colbert + Stewart Indecision 08.
posted by paisley henosis at 7:05 PM on November 4, 2008 [4 favorites]

That bird is so cute! I love cockatoos! Also: GJ NJ, way to not blow this.
posted by paisley henosis at 7:07 PM on November 4, 2008

WPW: Gordon Brown wasn't elected. ;)
posted by cheaily at 7:07 PM on November 4, 2008

Anyone know the status of Michelle Bachmann's race?
posted by clearly at 7:07 PM on November 4, 2008

Saddam Hussein won his elections. Once he even garnered 100% of the vote.

The question was about ethnic minorities, not religious minorities :) Saddam was an Arab, as are most of the Shiites.
posted by delmoi at 7:08 PM on November 4, 2008

Congrats, Americans, you did it.

Thanks from a Northern neighbour.
posted by bru at 7:08 PM on November 4, 2008

Please let this be clear enough for us to avoid any ridiculous challenges.
posted by Morrigan at 7:08 PM on November 4, 2008

Up in Virginia!
posted by thandal at 7:08 PM on November 4, 2008

delmoi, I head someone call him HALF-CASTE today. Such an ugly word.
posted by chuckdarwin at 7:08 PM on November 4, 2008

Sean Tevis race with an anchor so y'all don't have to scroll.
posted by sciurus at 7:09 PM on November 4, 2008

krinklyfig, I'm so glad about Udall! I would have loved for him to be my rep. In fact, all of the results from NM are making me super happy tonight!

Yeah, looks like we finally flipped back to blue, at least for now.
posted by krinklyfig at 7:09 PM on November 4, 2008

The President of France is the son of a Hungarian.

The President of France is an asshole AND he prank calls morons.
posted by gman at 7:10 PM on November 4, 2008 [6 favorites]

OH and now VA...I can stop being obsessed and anxious now, and just enjoy it. We did a good job.
posted by peachfuzz at 7:10 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

I'm watching Fox News on and off just for the dirge-like atmosphere. Kind of reminds me of watching footage of glum Tories booted out as Blair won in 97.

You might try watching Fox with the volume off and some funeral doom metal cranked up. Sorta fitting.
posted by Bookhouse at 7:10 PM on November 4, 2008

As far as we've come in the past decade with Internet and connectivity and stuff, it's been a while since I was smacked with a "Holy crap, we're living in the 21st century!" moment. It was nice to get that chill of progress again.

I'll be impressed when she pops into my living room.
posted by cjorgensen at 7:10 PM on November 4, 2008

Eamon de Valera, past President of Ireland, was the son of a Spanish Cuban.
posted by Flunkie at 7:10 PM on November 4, 2008

this is awesome. I heard this knocking about somewhere, can anyone verify that we'll be the first country to elect a racial minority president?

No, that's an absurd suggestion. Alberto Fujimori is the first person I thought of, but I'm sure there are loads of others.

(on preview: yeah, South Africa sort of took the biscuit there...)
posted by pompomtom at 7:11 PM on November 4, 2008

Help request: I'm trying to get the U.S. tv stations via the web but so far only MSNBC seems to be streaming their program live. CNN and ABC have awful "web programs" and not live streams. anyone know if there are live streams out there I don't know of?
posted by krautland at 7:11 PM on November 4, 2008

Morales is Amerindian, and Amerindians are the majority in Bolivia.
posted by Flunkie

Indeed he is, and extrapolating, Sanchez de Losada and all the white presidents of Bolivia have been members of the minority, and some of them were elected. The same goes for Guatemala, for instance.

As for Obama will be the first black president outside of Africa, with the exception IIRC of one south American country with a 40% black population -- or something like that.

The Caribbean has indeed had a bunch of them. Haiti even had the only black king of America.
posted by micayetoca at 7:11 PM on November 4, 2008

I voted by mail here in San Francisco so I don't have a sticker to wear proudly, but I spent the early morning with a bunch of other volunteers waving "No on Prop 8" (8 = ban on gay marriage) signs out at 19th and Judah. Regardless of how 8 fares statewide, the support for No on 8 here was pretty amazing. That intersection is very busy, with several bus and streetcar stops as well as tons of car traffic, and people were honking and whooping and giving us the thumbs-up like crazy. Not everyone was supportive but only one person actually flipped us the bird, which is pretty astonishing given that probably 1000 - 2000 people saw us.

We walked around to some of the polling places in the area a bit later, around 9 am, and didn't see much in the way of lines. Of course, there are a ridiculous number of polling places in that neighborhood, about every 3 blocks or something, so each poll probably only has about 100 voters assigned to it.

Two of us stood at one poll, handing out No on 8 cards, and only one guy harangued us. About Sodom and Gomorrah, believe it or not. But he was pretty ancient and won't be voting in too many more elections, whereas the younger voters mostly gave us big grins and thumbs-ups. Hopefully by the time I'm as old as that guy, people will be wondering what all the fuss was about back in 2008!

Voting no on 8 correlates strongly with voting for Obama (if anybody has real numbers please share; I'm basing my statement on buttons and T-shirts). So even though I didn't participate directly in the Obama campaign, I'd like to claim some tiny bit of history-making cred. I'm sick and tired of feeling ashamed of my country and I want us to be the good guys again. It will take a lot of work to fix what's gone wrong with America, but I'd like to think we're starting the job on November 4th, 2008.
posted by Quietgal at 7:11 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Rove on Fox talking about how Obama's win doesn't represent a vote against conservatism since everyone knows that Obama is really a centrist and not a liberal.

Oh this is going to be fun.
posted by tula at 7:11 PM on November 4, 2008

This Hoosier is sitting in Sydney, Australia and feeling very proud of my little state. I sent off my Absentee ballot three weeks ago and paid twelve bucks for the privilege of sending it Express International Air Mail. The guy at the post office glanced at the envelope and laughingly told me that normal Air Mail would get it there fast enough, but I told him I wanted to be damn sure I got to play a part in this. So no sticker for me, but

I'm still convinced McCain will win Indiana in the end, but to even come this close feels like a big step forward.

(And you can thank my Grandpa for Ohio, baby!)
posted by web-goddess at 7:12 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

cheaily: Tony Blair is Scottish (or at least born in Edinburgh).
posted by edd at 7:12 PM on November 4, 2008

Hell, Wino, Astoria is diehard Democratic district (the school I voted in is named after the local ward heeler), so I knew we had it wrapped up here, but I just wanted to put my little nudge behind the avalanche of history.
posted by jonmc at 7:12 PM on November 4, 2008

Michelle Bachmann is still white
posted by horsemuth at 7:12 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

“Appropriating the name of the Black Panthers to engage in intimidation and anti-white extremism. Recent article here.”

Yes, but they’re idiots. To wit:
"If you want to stop the revolution, that's what you got to hit," Shabazz said, pointing to the target tattooed onto his forehead. "I fight my oppressor, and I give him the target."

They wouldn’t know revolution and guerilla warfare if it bit them in the ass. Just another idiot extremist group that likes to talk big. Hell, they get off on the ‘boo!’ press as an ego stroke.
They’re no more dangerous (if even anywhere near) than the KKK or Aryan Nations idiots.
I mean socio-politically and militarily of course. Any idiot can bust something up with a brick.

Glorified streetgangs, at best, with a loose pseudo-ideological quasi-mystical rhetoric to sucker recruits and fool outsiders into thinking it’s about something other than money.

Maybe they did threaten voters. Happens a lot of places.
Plenty of political gangs out there who just straight up ‘get out the vote’ with far more serious and far less visibly prosecutable coercion.

This is just a ‘white scare’ boogeyman.

Y’know, this race thing isn’t a zero sum game. We can’t continue to be two countries. At best it’s like trying to do something - anything - with half your body asleep.
We can’t continue to have a forced underclass based on race. We can’t. Hell the loss in native talent alone is staggering.
I knew a guy in the service, black guy, who could do complex sums in his head. Didn’t want to go to college.
Partly because he thought he was stupid, but also in part because he never thought it possible. As a real reality.

Oh, there will be pain. Maybe some blood. It comes with change. It’s our duty to mitigate - not exacerbate that pain.
Right now it’s so fragile, and it could go down (that is, occur) any number of ways.

This had to happen sooner or later. It’s better it happens now when we at least have a chance of surviving it without total collapse.

We’ll get over this race bullshit. And the country will be stronger for it. Guys like my buddy will go to college and be good engineers or good doctors instead of drifting from job to job after military service because society tells them they’re worthless. Or even good officers. God knows we can use them.

We’ve got to reconcile our differences. Now is the time. If this were the 60’s I would have told Goldwater I agreed with him in principle on the constitution, but you can’t hold back natural social change without risking dire consequences. And what’s more, government shouldn’t.
And I’d tell him, it was time for it.
I say the same thing to my conservative friends.

This is what society wants. This is what we need right now. I’ve believed, as a conservative, my whole life that society and tradition are better guides than arbitrarially imposed laws seeking to force change. But damnit, being a conservative doesn’t mean nothing changes ever.
It simply means measured - not radical - steps.

Well, we’re taking one. And we have to take it. And I’ll be damned if I’m going to let a few loudmouths get away with screwing it up - whatever skin color they happen to have.
posted by Smedleyman at 7:13 PM on November 4, 2008 [6 favorites]

BetFair just updated their McCain odds to 440 to 1. No more bets allowed for Obama.

That pretty well means it's over.
posted by revmitcz at 7:13 PM on November 4, 2008

krautland - http://www.metafilter.com/76227/We-have-the-facts-and-were-voting#2325983
posted by gman at 7:13 PM on November 4, 2008

I remember being 14 and sitting up watching one of the Bush/Gore debates-- the one whose SNL parody gave us the word "strategery." I remember not liking Gore's attitude and thinking, with such clarity, That's it. No good can come from a guy like this. Wishing I was old enough to vote, because man, I knew what to do.

By the time 2004 came around, I was eligible, but I couldn't bring myself to actually cast a ballot. I was haunted by the thought that I couldn't trust myself to like the right guy.

This time around, despite being a highly convinced supporter, I've spent pretty much the entire campaign actively, strenuously not giving a damn about Obama. The more I heard about how inspiring and awesome he was, the more I deliberately avoided trying to see for myself. Doubt... guilt... superstition. I probably have not watched more than 20 minutes of his public speaking, total. I have not bought any shirts or buttons or stickers. I certainly have not volulnteered. I voted for him-- a week and a half early, and with great satisfaction-- but that's it. And now... I wish I could be more excited. I wish I felt like cheering instead of just smiling.

But at least I am smiling. I'm sitting in my car, the parking lot of some bar with wifi, a spare laptop battery at my side, wearing my lucky ring and telepathically commanding everyone else: Bring it home. And hey, as someone always pops in to remind us, the election isn't the end... there'll always be more to do. I know a lot of people are choosing not to think about that tonight, but it's making me kinda happy. I feel less like I missed my one chance to be a part of something cool by not getting over my personal issues fast enough.

tl:dr GO OBAMA.
posted by jinjo at 7:14 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

John Bolton has done a superb job of embarrassing himself on the BBC. What a complete twatburger. Fucking walrus.
posted by chuckdarwin at 7:14 PM on November 4, 2008 [6 favorites]

WTF am I doing on CNN? Daily Show is apparently live.
posted by amuseDetachment at 7:15 PM on November 4, 2008

Man, the democrat who took Mark Foley's seat lost. He had an affair and apparently treated his mistress like an asshole.

Here's what's cute. Mahoney, the congressman, had been a republican who switched his party affiliation to run against Foley.
posted by delmoi at 7:15 PM on November 4, 2008

All this election stuff is really exciting me, and many of my friends. And we're in Australia.

Yay for change!

I'm very much liking the look of this Obamaslide.
posted by cholly at 7:15 PM on November 4, 2008

President Obama.
posted by bardic at 7:15 PM on November 4, 2008 [12 favorites]

When I think about this in terms of history, I think about those little "Presidents of the United States" placemats, and when I think of #44, between George Herbert Walker Bush and whoever, there will be an African-American President named Barack Hussein Obama, my heart just swells.

(No, those aren't tears... those are... allergies. Allergies, yes.)
posted by grapefruitmoon at 7:15 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

gman: thank you.

John Bolton has done a superb job of embarrassing himself on the BBC. What a complete twatburger. Fucking walrus.

yeah, I just saw that. very surprised to see him. (I am in London tonight.)
posted by krautland at 7:16 PM on November 4, 2008

This is amazing! GO OBAMA!

And yeah, there's a good amount of schadenfreude to watching FOX tonight.
posted by foodmapper at 7:16 PM on November 4, 2008

Dear Indiana:

I know you don't trust "the blacks."

I understand that you harbor a huge Klan population. I know that lots of you use 'the N word' when talking about a certain presidential candidate. I know lots of you are good people, and I know lots of you are serious crackers who fear people who don't look like you.

But I swear to God, if one of you people shoots Obama, I will fucking murder your children.

Sincerely,
PH

PS- If you go blue, I will love ya'll for the rest of my Hoosier life.
posted by paisley henosis at 7:16 PM on November 4, 2008

Missouri still hasn't been called. Radio just said some people are still voting as they were in line 2 hours ago when the polls closed.

I'm a naturalized citizen. I worked hard to become a citizen of this country. I am so proud and hopeful tonight.
posted by Monsters at 7:17 PM on November 4, 2008

Gordon Brown wasn't elected. ;)

Dang.

Changing the subject. John Bolton is a really nasty piece of work, isn't he?
posted by WPW at 7:19 PM on November 4, 2008

I've been saying "President Obama" for weeks now. It sounds good.
posted by chuckdarwin at 7:19 PM on November 4, 2008

Why hasn't CNN called Texas yet?
posted by birdherder at 7:19 PM on November 4, 2008

edd: really? wow. the things you learn!
posted by cheaily at 7:19 PM on November 4, 2008

Back in the office in Beijing. Surprisingly enough, or not, those hard working Chinese management consultants I hang out with just seem to be staring at their powerpoint files. I'll see if I can get a reaction this evening over drinks.
posted by michswiss at 7:19 PM on November 4, 2008

The New England contingent to the House of Representatives for the 111th Congress will have not a single Republican member.
posted by Flunkie at 7:19 PM on November 4, 2008

President Obama.

Fuckin' A!
posted by jonmc at 7:19 PM on November 4, 2008

Oprah in Grant Park!
posted by tellurian at 7:20 PM on November 4, 2008

Well done America... I'm genuinely proud of you. The American ambassador (GOP thru and thru) on the BBC is getting increasingly snarky... Dimbleby just more or less told him to shut up.

So, any chance of cloning Obama and sending Barack#2 over to the UK? The man has a quality and dignity that is sorely lacking in any of our current batch of politicos...
posted by Chairboy at 7:20 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

John Bolton looks like a retard surrounded by all those British guys.
posted by chugg at 7:21 PM on November 4, 2008

And to think Dixville Notch was the impetus for this thread.
posted by gman at 7:21 PM on November 4, 2008

There's a senior republican on the BBC getting very pissed off. Heh.
posted by i_cola at 7:21 PM on November 4, 2008

Another congratulatory woo-woo from Canada! Also, I'm really glad I don't have to start selling my WTF AMERICA? t-shirts and posters tomorrow.
posted by illiad at 7:21 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

John Bolton is a really nasty piece of work, isn't he?

I wish they'd let Hitchens loose on him. Christopher has probably had at least three scotches and ten Marlboros by now. He's ready to fuck someone up.
posted by chuckdarwin at 7:21 PM on November 4, 2008 [11 favorites]

~ I've been saying "President Obama" for weeks now. It sounds good.

I call him "Hussein," it is a great measure of whether or not the believed the 'secret Muslim' crap.
posted by paisley henosis at 7:22 PM on November 4, 2008

Wow, the Obama event in Grant Park and McCain event in Phoenix are a fascinating study in contrasts. Sen. John Kyl at the Arizona even just stressed that its still "too close to call."
posted by Joey Michaels at 7:22 PM on November 4, 2008

I bet a lot of Repubs, on both sides of the pond, are getting very pissed, in both senses of the word.
posted by QIbHom at 7:22 PM on November 4, 2008

DaShiv for the win! Indiana is creeping along all right.
posted by Duug at 7:23 PM on November 4, 2008

Thanks, grandpa.
posted by nax at 7:23 PM on November 4, 2008

i_cola: that'd be the aforementioned John Bolton.
posted by edd at 7:23 PM on November 4, 2008

Voting no on 8 correlates strongly with voting for Obama (if anybody has real numbers please share; I'm basing my statement on buttons and T-shirts).

I'd assume that too, but I saw a guy driving through Hillcrest (San Diego's version of the Castro) this morning whose car was plastered with both Obama and Yes on 8 stickers, along with an American flag flying out the window and some sort of Jesus license plate frame. I imagine he's in the extreme minority, though.
posted by LionIndex at 7:23 PM on November 4, 2008

An all-American celebration of bourbon and apple pie.

Woo!
posted by backseatpilot at 7:23 PM on November 4, 2008

Forbes, eh? Who would have guessed?
posted by paisley henosis at 7:23 PM on November 4, 2008

OK, now they did call TX. Still Travis County is 66% Obama in early voting.
posted by birdherder at 7:24 PM on November 4, 2008

John Bolton got soooo pissed off he LEFT!
posted by chugg at 7:24 PM on November 4, 2008

I am so happy that I won't have to carry through on my backup plan of purchasing a bumper sticker saying "DON'T BLAME ME - I VOTED FOR THE SECRET MUSLIM REVERSE VAMPIRE TERRORIST".
posted by Flunkie at 7:24 PM on November 4, 2008

John Bolton is a really nasty piece of work, isn't he?

I wish they'd let Hitchens loose on him. Christopher has probably had at least three scotches and ten Marlboros by now. He's ready to fuck someone up.

If he dosen't I will. I've had the equivalent amount of booze and smokes and I'd like to observe that maybe he should go back to the group sex orgies he loved so much (and made his moustache so ripe, instead of trying to help his cronies fuck the rest of us.
posted by jonmc at 7:24 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

In CNN's live stream they are saying that someone asked "senior" McCain campaign officials who were "crunching the numbers", "do you see any path to victory" and both said "NO".
posted by micayetoca at 7:25 PM on November 4, 2008

Did I hear Rachael Maddow say that the South Dakota anti-choice measure is going down?
posted by Morrigan at 7:25 PM on November 4, 2008

smedleyman, I agree. It makes me sad to see these losers getting publicity, because it's a hard enough battle to convince folks that young black men, even angry young black men, aren't necessarily dangerous to them. That we have to all think for ourselves.

(These particular dudes didn't even manage to intimidate voters very well. In the end, it wasn't much of a story.
posted by desuetude at 7:27 PM on November 4, 2008

The talking heads on my local news just called Colorado for Obama.
posted by Sheppagus at 7:27 PM on November 4, 2008

You can hear Steve Schmidt and Rick Davis cheering in the Stewart/Colbert audience every time they call a state for McCain.
posted by gman at 7:27 PM on November 4, 2008

Yeah, fire up the gimp Hitchens...
posted by Chairboy at 7:28 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Yep, Morrigan. She said the nasty CO "life begins at conception" thing went down, too.

Woo-hoo!!!
posted by QIbHom at 7:28 PM on November 4, 2008

Did I hear Rachael Maddow say that the South Dakota anti-choice measure is going down?

Yes.
posted by effwerd at 7:28 PM on November 4, 2008

Is it just me or is Pollster showing Obama ahead in South. Dakota. ?
posted by shakespeherian at 7:29 PM on November 4, 2008

BBC has McCain a thumping 0.01% ahead in Indiana, 49.5/49.4.
posted by WPW at 7:29 PM on November 4, 2008

jonmc, this is a good day for America.

I can hold my head high tomorrow. I'll bet British people buy me beers for a month just so they can hear me gloat. I've been banging the drum for President Obama for four years now.
posted by chuckdarwin at 7:29 PM on November 4, 2008

WOOOOOO STEPHEN COLBERT IS LOVEBLOGGING TOO!! WOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
posted by paisley henosis at 7:30 PM on November 4, 2008

Anybody else see anything on colorado?
posted by craven_morhead at 7:30 PM on November 4, 2008

The Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News have now also called Colorado for Obama.
posted by Sheppagus at 7:30 PM on November 4, 2008

At last...an end to Boomer tyranny.

Half kidding
posted by JaredSeth at 7:30 PM on November 4, 2008

Tweets.
posted by paisley henosis at 7:30 PM on November 4, 2008

Man look at the margin in Sarasota County in Florida - 100% of the vote counted, 227 votes!!!
posted by awfurby at 7:30 PM on November 4, 2008

Voting in Virginia today was pretty awesome. I stood in a very orderly and happy line, in a well organized and well run precinct (using electronic voter rolls, no less!) and yet I had to wait for two hours in line because there were so many people there to vote. The best part was the amazing mix of people there, a total cross-section of the country. As a naturalized citizen, it makes me so happy to be able to participate in this historic election. Yaaay democracy!!!
posted by gemmy at 7:31 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Sorry, Denver Post link.
posted by Sheppagus at 7:32 PM on November 4, 2008

I've got a big bowl of popcorn and a bottle of Michelob Ultra (yes, I'm a wussy beer drinker, but to me it tastes just as good as the finest champagne because I'm feeling so celebratory). This feeling has been a long time coming. Oh Happy Day!
posted by amyms at 7:32 PM on November 4, 2008

Are they ever going to update Sean Tevis' race? It's been at one precinct reporting for about 25 reloads now!
posted by QIbHom at 7:33 PM on November 4, 2008

Can I just say that this thread is really the best election coverage out there?

Okay -- go back to what you were doing.
posted by wittgenstein at 7:34 PM on November 4, 2008

can anyone verify that we'll be the first country to elect a racial minority president?

Whoah! Hold your horses with this Number One!!1!!11 crap already.

Peru has a Japanese-descent leader, for starters. Manmohan Singh of India is a Sikh (minority, at least). And you could bet that there've been plenty of African leaders who come from ethnic minorities, given the fractious tribal nature of African societies, leaving aside white minority leaders.

If you want to look at famous minority leaders in general, Hitler was Austrian, and Stalin was Georgian.
posted by UbuRoivas at 7:34 PM on November 4, 2008

jonmc, this is a good day for America.

As I've been trying to tell you, at the end of the day, we're all right, us Yanks. USA! USA! USA!

(also, John McCain: if you want to salvage the last shred of respect I have for you (whether the respect of somebody like me matters to him, I'll never know), just concede with class. Don't pull any vote fraud suits or kick and scream. that'll show me you're not GW Bush)
posted by jonmc at 7:34 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

The dailykos map is showing Obama ahead by 1.3 million votes so far, with no West Coast numbers yet.
posted by JaredSeth at 7:35 PM on November 4, 2008

I wish they'd let Hitchens loose on him. Christopher has probably had at least three scotches and ten Marlboros by now. He's ready to fuck someone up.

He's had at least two packs already, and probably on his second fifth. And he's definitely ready to fuck someone up. I'm not sure it's great he moved back to the Democrat side, because he's such a rapacious drunk, but he's not afraid to throw punches, and he is well schooled. He always looks like he's going into or coming out of another late night these days. But I'd pay good money to see him and Bolton go at it, cause Hitchens would just completely lose it, and he'd feel no pain.
posted by krinklyfig at 7:35 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

I remember a long way back when I first heard the name Barack Obama.
First thing I said *gravelly voice* “In this corner, fighting out of the great city of Chicago, heavyweight champion of the world - Barack Obama! Obama!”

Before I even knew who he was, the name always sounded like a great fight name to me. Just the way it crunches and bulls around your tongue.

Pretty much anyone you name in opposition...with the exception of maybe Rocky Balboa (I’m just talking fight *names* here, I know he’s fictional) sounds like a tomato can.
...John “Sailor” McCain. Not to disparage him. Could be anybody really. Joe Louis. Great fighter. Not so great fight name.

Anyway, just kind of funny that my first inclination was that he was a champion.
“In this corner, fighting out of the great city of Chicago, President of the United States of America - Barack Obama! Obama!”

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Round one.
posted by Smedleyman at 7:35 PM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

I think a joint might actually ruin my buzz right now.
posted by gman at 7:36 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

OH SHIT GUYS WHAT IF OBAMA IS A HOLOGRAM

I don't care if he's a ViewMaster reel with sound.
posted by jonmc at 7:36 PM on November 4, 2008 [6 favorites]

Colorado for Obama, yessssssss.
posted by boo_radley at 7:36 PM on November 4, 2008

I heard this knocking about somewhere, can anyone verify that we'll be the first country to elect a racial minority president?
Mahendra Chaudry comes to mind.
posted by tellurian at 7:36 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Can I get a link to a county-by-county for this election? MeMail if needed.

Thanks.
posted by paisley henosis at 7:36 PM on November 4, 2008

I slept three hours last night, three fitful hours. Have teared up several times today just thinking about what this means for my country. I got my sticker.

Senator Obama has already made one hell of a mark on history. Here's to the American voter for making him President-elect Obama. And here's to my dream that this truly, finally, is morning again in America.
posted by bigbigdog at 7:37 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Thank god for bubble sheet scantron voting! No Diebold machines for me, paper and the mood in the polling place was lighthearted.

We filled out our ballots on a folding table in plain sight of each other, for god's sake, and nobody was even bothered by this (except the one guy worried that a non-secret ballot would not be counted - the volunteers assured him EVERY vote would be counted).

...and then a call from my friend, almost in tears she was so happy that America has finally cme to its senses.
posted by caution live frogs at 7:37 PM on November 4, 2008

SD just went to McCain. Only 3 votes.
posted by krinklyfig at 7:37 PM on November 4, 2008

Chuck Todd just totally had a geekgasm on NBC.
posted by Bookhouse at 7:37 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

How is cnn doing this hologram shit?
posted by puke & cry at 7:38 PM on November 4, 2008

Are they ever going to update Sean Tevis' race? It's been at one precinct reporting for about 25 reloads now!

Those are the early voting numbers. Unofficial results will come at about 11:15 local time.
posted by Knappster at 7:38 PM on November 4, 2008

I'm not seeing a blue VA anywhere else...not going to bed until I see it.
posted by JoanArkham at 7:38 PM on November 4, 2008

Can I just say that this thread is really the best election coverage out there?

I KNOW! I've SO been looking forward to Stewart/Colbert and I find myself rarely glancing over at my television.
posted by gman at 7:38 PM on November 4, 2008

Did I hear Rachael Maddow say that the South Dakota anti-choice measure is going down?

Anti-abortion measures lose in state ballots:

Voters in Colorado and South Dakota on Tuesday rejected anti-abortion initiatives, while Michigan approved medical marijuana and Massachusetts decriminalized the possession of an ounce or less of marijuana, according to NBC projections.

posted by peeedro at 7:38 PM on November 4, 2008

paisley henosis: the NYT front page has county results as they come in; click on their county map tab.
posted by brain cloud at 7:40 PM on November 4, 2008

Are they ever going to update Sean Tevis' race? It's been at one precinct reporting for about 25 reloads now!

Those are the early voting numbers. Unofficial results will come at about 11:15 local time.

Sorry, make that 10:15 local time.
posted by Knappster at 7:40 PM on November 4, 2008

Round of drinks on me!

Matt, make it happen!
posted by chugg at 7:40 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Smedleyman - Obama isn't a heavy weight. More like Middle Weight

To be fair, McCain is too, so all's fair.
posted by paisley henosis at 7:41 PM on November 4, 2008

gman I've got a house full of people, and I'm completely ignoring them so I can follow this and the PoFi threads. (hard to type when you're drunk and have a borken finger). Or a broken one.
posted by nax at 7:41 PM on November 4, 2008

Chuck Todd just totally had a geekgasm on NBC.

What happened? I got Daily Show on ...
posted by krinklyfig at 7:41 PM on November 4, 2008

It's 3:41 AM GMT, and Mrs Darwin and I are drinking Peroni and eating crab cakes. It feels like the earth has shifted back into alignment.
posted by chuckdarwin at 7:42 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

I know the chances of it happening are pretty slim, but if Arizona gives its love to Obama, I'm going to be moved to tears. I've been trapped in this state for far too long now and have always detested it, but if I saw that the majority of my fellow 'zoners vote blue, I think I could let go of my living-in-the-desert, surrounded-by-old-people-who-can't-drive, where-the-hell-is-all-the-culture-at hate.

p.s. I voted for Obama at 10 a.m. this morning with my wife! It's the most excited either of us have ever been to be apart of the political process.
posted by Bageena at 7:42 PM on November 4, 2008

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ I am so not living up to my username right now. ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
posted by bitter-girl.com at 7:42 PM on November 4, 2008 [7 favorites]

I'm so happy that I don't even have words to express it. It's not over until it's over... but already we've made history.
posted by Forktine at 7:43 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Aasif Mandvi f'kin rocks.

Terrorists over 30? C'mon Jon.
posted by paisley henosis at 7:43 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Can I get a link to a county-by-county for this election?

The NYTimes and CNN maps have county by county breakdowns if you click on a state.
posted by clearly at 7:44 PM on November 4, 2008

Obama is currently ahead in Nebraska district 2 (Douglas and Sarpy counties). Also ahead in Lancaster county (where Lincoln is), but I doubt that will be enough to balance out the rest of district 1.
posted by Hypocrite_Lecteur at 7:44 PM on November 4, 2008

Fox News projects Obama wins VA.
posted by Otis at 7:44 PM on November 4, 2008

paisley henosis: WTF?
posted by jonmc at 7:45 PM on November 4, 2008

PS to 10:30, LOVE = LIVE
posted by paisley henosis at 7:45 PM on November 4, 2008

Chuck Todd just totally had a geekgasm on NBC.

What happened? I got Daily Show on ...

He was explaining the congressional districts of Nebraska, and he was so clearly in his element, and so overjoyed that he makes big bucks by being such a huge nerd ... he's just geeking out.
posted by Bookhouse at 7:46 PM on November 4, 2008

HAY MY NAME IS WOLF BLITZER. IN MERE MOMENTS I WILL LEAD UP TO THE STAGE A NUBILE 14 YEAR OLD BOY, AT WHICH TIME I WILL REPEATEDLY SODOMIZE HIM UNTIL MCCAIN CONCEDES. THAT'S COVERAGE YOU CAN COUNT ON HERE AT CNN
posted by cellphone at 7:46 PM on November 4, 2008

At last...an end to Boomer tyranny.

Knock that shit off. Obama wouldn't be in this position if it weren't for the struggles of the generation you're mindlessly bashing. Can we keep this thread celebratory? Thanks.

Also, since I'm here: President Obama!
posted by languagehat at 7:46 PM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

Posting in historic thread. Just give me Udall (CO) for my family out there.
posted by cmfletcher at 7:46 PM on November 4, 2008

paisley henosis: WTF?

Apparently you're paying even less attention to Colbert/Stewart than I am.
posted by gman at 7:47 PM on November 4, 2008

GO WILL.I.AM.OGRAM!!!!
posted by jmd82 at 7:47 PM on November 4, 2008

~ Sorry, live blogging Stewart/Colbert.

Also, drunk.
posted by paisley henosis at 7:48 PM on November 4, 2008

PBS is calling VA for Obama now.

NPR is saying MO is looking good for Obama now.
posted by Pollomacho at 7:48 PM on November 4, 2008

Will.I.Hologram

i am so sorry
posted by sugarfish at 7:48 PM on November 4, 2008

that hologram is pretty cool.
posted by chugg at 7:49 PM on November 4, 2008

Going to bed. Thank you America. Thank you for letting me feel proud to feel American again.
posted by mrmojoflying at 7:49 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Knock that shit off. Obama wouldn't be in this position if it weren't for the struggles of the generation you're mindlessly bashing.

Gotta agree with the hat here. On Mecha yesterday, I mentioned that it's the what today would be called 'hopeless naivete' of those years that set the stage for tonight. So, tell that shit to the tourists.
posted by jonmc at 7:49 PM on November 4, 2008

Two skinny guys from Illinois who made a difference.

Damn yes.
posted by paisley henosis at 7:49 PM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

Fox News calls Virginia for Obama.
posted by infinitewindow at 7:49 PM on November 4, 2008

WPW said: John Bolton is a really nasty piece of work, isn't he?

He's the female version of Ann Coulter. Don't be fooled by the mustache.
posted by purephase at 7:50 PM on November 4, 2008

Really? Are you sure? Is this happening?

I feel like a little girl waking up on her birthday to find a pony in my room that shoots rainbows out of its ass.

Wait, I might be drunk too.
posted by Ugh at 7:50 PM on November 4, 2008 [13 favorites]

METAAAFIIIIIIIIILTEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER!

I LLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOU!!

THE WORLD IS GOOD AGAIN!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!
posted by The Loch Ness Monster at 7:50 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Also, I firmly believe that it was Handsome Dick Manitoba's endorsement that put Barack over the top.
posted by jonmc at 7:51 PM on November 4, 2008

WPW said: John Bolton is a really nasty piece of work, isn't he?

He's the female version of Ann Coulter. Don't be fooled by the mustache.

Bolton is WAY more attractive.
posted by gman at 7:52 PM on November 4, 2008

Ya know what's funny right now?

Reading Free Republic is pretty fuckin' funny right now:

DO NOT LET THE RINO VICHY GOP TRAITORS BLAME SARAH PALIN
posted by bardic at 7:53 PM on November 4, 2008

I ♥ all the other drunk people in this thread. Also the sober peeps.
posted by paisley henosis at 7:54 PM on November 4, 2008

Careful, Loch Ness. I screamed that (well most of that) to my husband when he got home and he jumped out of his skin.
posted by nax at 7:54 PM on November 4, 2008

Google Wayback Ron Paul
posted by turgid dahlia at 7:54 PM on November 4, 2008 [5 favorites]

The MSNBC map says 76% of Denver voted for Obama. I can't believe Colorado has gone blue.

And we kicked the scary anti abortion measure. YAY!!!
posted by Sheppagus at 7:54 PM on November 4, 2008

So when will Obama speak in Chicago? Could it be as soon as shortly after 11 ET?
posted by Perplexity at 7:55 PM on November 4, 2008

Fox just called Virginia for Obama. That puts him at 220, and then California alone puts him over.
posted by shakespeherian at 7:56 PM on November 4, 2008

Hah. The daily show just called VA.

Nice.
posted by delmoi at 7:56 PM on November 4, 2008

PS- I mean you, Locj Ness Monster.
posted by paisley henosis at 7:56 PM on November 4, 2008

Also, I had lunch today with a big group of people, probably 2/3 of them McCain voters. It made me feel really good about our country -- there was lots of joking back and forth, but no one was gloating and no one was angry and calling names. Lots and lots of respect for the other person (if not for their candidate, of course). The angry bigots in the youtube videos at McCain/Palin rallies had nothing to do with the considerate and principled Republicans I know here.

But remembering those nasty videos from the Potsville rally sure made me happy to see PA turn blue on the electoral map.
posted by Forktine at 7:56 PM on November 4, 2008

freerepublic.com is down. Heh.
posted by emelenjr at 7:57 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

The world has changed. I want to go to bed full of good news, before California comes in, in fear that Prop 8 is passed.
posted by Morrigan at 7:57 PM on November 4, 2008

Can I get a link to a county-by-county for this election?

Front page of the New York Times, County tab at the bottom of the map, zoom in, presto bango hoohah.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 7:57 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Virginia blue? Really? I may cry. I need more rum.
posted by gingerbeer at 7:58 PM on November 4, 2008

I'm not seeing a blue VA anywhere else...not going to bed until I see it.

Obama's currently up and he'll stay up as the Fairfax County returns come in. You can keep an eye on things on the Board of Election's unofficial results page.

And from here[doc]: "In Virginia, there are no automatic recounts. Only an apparent losing candidate can ask for a recount, and only if the difference between the apparent winning and that apparent losing candidates is 1% or less of the total votes cast for those two candidates."
posted by peeedro at 7:58 PM on November 4, 2008

They're gonna call it as soon as the west coast polls close. T-Minus 2:00 minutes and counting.
posted by Big_B at 7:58 PM on November 4, 2008

Ya know what's funny right now?

Thinking about Sarah hatefucking Todd later tonight?
posted by gman at 7:58 PM on November 4, 2008

Metafilter: We could always store our chocolate and whiskey in you.
posted by paisley henosis at 7:58 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

CNN calls Virginia blue.
posted by Rock Steady at 7:59 PM on November 4, 2008

When does McCain make the concession call?
posted by vibrotronica at 7:59 PM on November 4, 2008

PRESIDENT OBAMA!!!!!
posted by bumpkin at 8:00 PM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

MSNBC: "Barack Obama is projected to be the next President of the United States of America."
posted by Flunkie at 8:00 PM on November 4, 2008

MSNBC Calls CA, WA, and OR. And the presidency.
posted by delmoi at 8:00 PM on November 4, 2008

win win win win win win win win
posted by xorry at 8:00 PM on November 4, 2008

CNN just called the election for Obama.
posted by effwerd at 8:00 PM on November 4, 2008

This thread really helped me get through a very tense day. Thank you all for the updates. I am almost willing to let up on the clenched teeth and believe!
posted by InkaLomax at 8:00 PM on November 4, 2008

OK, I need sleep. I hope I don't wake up to news reports of zombie lawyers plaguing the capitols of the USA.

Well done USians. Enjoy the party. You deserve it.
posted by i_cola at 8:00 PM on November 4, 2008

AND SCENE!!!!
posted by potch at 8:00 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

CNN just called it!
posted by gman at 8:01 PM on November 4, 2008

YES
posted by donnagirl at 8:01 PM on November 4, 2008

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
posted by Pollomacho at 8:01 PM on November 4, 2008

West Coast projections in, and Grant Park is going nuts.
posted by carter at 8:01 PM on November 4, 2008

ABC just called the election for Obama!!!

refresh refresh refresh
posted by emd3737 at 8:01 PM on November 4, 2008

~ Front page of the New York Times, County tab at the bottom of the map, zoom in, presto bango hoohah.

Thanks!

TDS CALLS IT! WOAH!!!!! OBAMANATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
posted by paisley henosis at 8:01 PM on November 4, 2008

It's official. I just watched the results on TV, and all I could do was make like the Shake & Bake kid and say "AND I HELPED!"
posted by jonmc at 8:01 PM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

Also, I firmly believe that it was Handsome Dick Manitoba's endorsement that put Barack over the top.

Only because the real Manitoba is in Canada, otherwise there would've been an electoral backlash.
posted by UbuRoivas at 8:01 PM on November 4, 2008

You know, it wasn't that log ago that I'd have sooner been shot in the head than hear the word Maverick again. Tonight I'm changing my mind on that:

Maverick County Texas 7% Reporting
Barack Obama 78.2%
John McCain 21.0%
Other 0.7%
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 8:01 PM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

It's Obama!

Well done America!

293 EV according to BBC, with the West Coast and Virginia.
posted by WPW at 8:01 PM on November 4, 2008

Stay in line, Cali MeFites. Stop Prop 8!
posted by infinitewindow at 8:02 PM on November 4, 2008

Thank you, America.
posted by oaf at 8:02 PM on November 4, 2008

FUCK YEAH!
posted by krautland at 8:02 PM on November 4, 2008

'TIS DONE! :-)
posted by Duug at 8:02 PM on November 4, 2008

OH SNAP!!!!!!!!!! If Obama can win, there's hope yet for the img tag!
posted by jmd82 at 8:02 PM on November 4, 2008

4:01 - BBC calls the election for Obama.
posted by chuckdarwin at 8:02 PM on November 4, 2008

thank you
posted by fleetmouse at 8:02 PM on November 4, 2008

OH-BAH-MAH
posted by cholly at 8:02 PM on November 4, 2008

God bless America.
posted by Knappster at 8:02 PM on November 4, 2008

NBC's got Obama at 288. I am shaking. I feel I don't know I can't believe we got here.
posted by nax at 8:03 PM on November 4, 2008

WOW WOW WOW
posted by Maishe at 8:03 PM on November 4, 2008

Yes!
posted by schoolgirl report at 8:03 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
posted by The Whelk at 8:03 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Wow. Way to go. I love you guys.
posted by zsazsa at 8:03 PM on November 4, 2008

Well done.
posted by peeedro at 8:03 PM on November 4, 2008

OH SNAP!!!!!!!!!! If Obama can win, there's hope yet for the img tag!
...and it seems like MeFi's slowing down....hmmmmm
posted by jmd82 at 8:03 PM on November 4, 2008

Yes we did.
posted by Serial Killer Slumber Party at 8:03 PM on November 4, 2008

[this is so good]
posted by emelenjr at 8:03 PM on November 4, 2008

!
posted by These Premises Are Alarmed at 8:03 PM on November 4, 2008

Ok, I admit it - kind of crying a bit here.

Fuck yeah, President Obama!
posted by lullaby at 8:03 PM on November 4, 2008

President Obama. It's real.
posted by toastedbeagle at 8:03 PM on November 4, 2008

I was close many times today but I'm officially crying with happiness now. Anyone else?
posted by Morrigan at 8:03 PM on November 4, 2008

NBC's got Obama at 288. I am shaking. I feel I don't know I can't believe we got here.
posted by nax at 8:04 PM on November 4, 2008

ROLL CREDITS.
posted by jinjo at 8:04 PM on November 4, 2008

You know, up until this moment, I really really thought that something would go wrong. I thought we'd get the rug pulled out. I am truly proud of being American today.
posted by sugarfish at 8:04 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Oh my dear sweet Lord.
posted by Astro Zombie at 8:04 PM on November 4, 2008

For those who care, the map on the Seattle PI shows 3rd party candidates.

Nader got some >1%'s, Barr got a few >0.5%, Baldwin gets some showings on the Bible belt...

At Louisiana McKinney gets 0.5% (seems to be her biggest showing yet)... It is a complete mystery why they started caring so much about climate change... :P

Ron Paul got into the ballot in a couple states, got 1.7% in Montana, 0.5% in Louisiana.
posted by qvantamon at 8:04 PM on November 4, 2008

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

I'm in shock. We won!
posted by freshwater_pr0n at 8:04 PM on November 4, 2008

I feel eight years younger.
posted by Bookhouse at 8:04 PM on November 4, 2008 [8 favorites]

Wow, I take a nap so I could wake up at 0630 here . . . it was seriously was like Christmas where you're getting up, waiting for everyone to gather in the living room, and just knowing that there was some weird, crazy present there that was driving you mad to see.
posted by Lord Chancellor at 8:04 PM on November 4, 2008

I'm so amped right now, this is incredible. I'm about to explode.
posted by puke & cry at 8:05 PM on November 4, 2008

Signed. Sealed. Delivered.
posted by toastedbeagle at 8:05 PM on November 4, 2008

My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over.

Grabbing another Miller Lite...
posted by crapmatic at 8:05 PM on November 4, 2008

I'm crying.

Yes, we did.
posted by winna at 8:05 PM on November 4, 2008

TDS pwns election.
posted by paisley henosis at 8:05 PM on November 4, 2008

i am just bawling.
posted by xorry at 8:05 PM on November 4, 2008

...the wave is here... woah.
posted by Free word order! at 8:05 PM on November 4, 2008

OBAMA'S UP IN INDIANA!??
posted by web-goddess at 8:05 PM on November 4, 2008

CALLED! PRESIDENT-ELECT OBAMA!
posted by rand at 8:05 PM on November 4, 2008

THIS IS SO FUCKING AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
posted by HyperBlue at 8:05 PM on November 4, 2008

Even Fox News is calling for Obama!

We are in tears here. This is such a moving moment.
posted by Forktine at 8:05 PM on November 4, 2008

Thank God Almighty, we're free at last!!
posted by brain cloud at 8:05 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

epic. nothing more, nothing less.
posted by starzero at 8:05 PM on November 4, 2008

YES!
posted by thegreatfleecircus at 8:05 PM on November 4, 2008

It's a great moment. I wish I wasn't at home in my basement but we just got a new puppy. And, yes, my puppy is happy, too!
posted by strangeleftydoublethink at 8:06 PM on November 4, 2008

I'm letting myself feel that wave of relief now.

I'm off to bed. Just wanted to thank anyone who made that effort to find out about the issues, make their decision and cast their vote, regardless of what that vote was.
posted by edd at 8:06 PM on November 4, 2008

WHAT NOW?
posted by gman at 8:06 PM on November 4, 2008

He was explaining the congressional districts of Nebraska, and he was so clearly in his element, and so overjoyed that he makes big bucks by being such a huge nerd ... he's just geeking out.

Yeah, Chuck's alright. Being a political junkie, I totally envy his job. He does a good job of getting the facts through the veneer of cable news overhyper24hourcycle.
posted by krinklyfig at 8:06 PM on November 4, 2008

Oh thank you.
posted by penduluum at 8:06 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Wow!

Yes we did!
posted by cmfletcher at 8:06 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

OBAMA
posted by ludwig_van at 8:06 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

YES! YES! YES WE DID!
posted by lysistrata at 8:06 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

We won. America won. I love you all.
posted by unsupervised at 8:07 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

How is cnn doing this hologram shit?

I think they're faking it - the studio guy is talking to empty space, and computers are overlaying the "hologram" onto the live video feed. This is impressive in that the computers are assembling the feed of the reporter from multiple cameras in real-time, tracking the position of the studio camera, and correctly generating and placing the feed, all in realtime, but it's not impressive in that the challenging thing about a hologram has always been how to project it in realspace, and no projecting or any realspace imaging is happening, just a video overlay. The "obtaining 3d data" half of the equation is much simpler.
posted by -harlequin- at 8:07 PM on November 4, 2008

Yes. Thank you so much.
posted by unknowncommand at 8:07 PM on November 4, 2008

-o Bush
+o Obama

Loves it
posted by rider at 8:07 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

I'm grinning from ear to ear, tearing up, and getting shivers all at the same time.

THIS IS SO AWESOME!!
posted by jschu at 8:07 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Nice.
posted by marxchivist at 8:07 PM on November 4, 2008

Congrats, Barack.
posted by paisley henosis at 8:07 PM on November 4, 2008

Signed, Sealed, Delivered, OH YEAH, O-B-A-M-A!!
posted by HyperBlue at 8:07 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

holyshitholyshitholyshitholyshit!

*deep breath*

By the way, Matt, you know the server's getting hammered right now, right?
posted by backseatpilot at 8:08 PM on November 4, 2008

I am extremely happy. Well done, America, and about time, too.

Some folks have expressed the sentiment that now they can start ignoring politics again for next couple of years. Please don't -- stay involved, and make all that wonderful galvanizing lofty rhetoric in the past months from soon-to-be President Obama mean continued real change, for America and for the rest of us watching around the world.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 8:08 PM on November 4, 2008 [13 favorites]

You should see the fuckin' joint I've rolled for this.
posted by gman at 8:08 PM on November 4, 2008 [8 favorites]

The American people finally stopped saying they ran into a door.

Oh god. Oh yes. Oh god.
posted by The Whelk at 8:08 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Lord Chancellor. Glad to see you're still hanging in with us in this thread. Thank you and have a peaceful day.
posted by toastedbeagle at 8:08 PM on November 4, 2008

Countdown to Iran Invasion... 5.... 4.... 3....

(I just can't shake my innate liberal pessimism even in the face of sheer awesomeness)
posted by Joey Michaels at 8:08 PM on November 4, 2008

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyy!
posted by amyms at 8:08 PM on November 4, 2008

.
posted by ColdChef at 8:08 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

This is so amazing. I'm in tears.
posted by deborah at 8:08 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

All I can say is: awesome. Literally full of awe.
posted by m0nm0n at 8:08 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

This is just stupendous stuff, America, thank you so much. I'm off to bed. Love you guys.
posted by WPW at 8:08 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Everyone open another fucking beer and cheers!
posted by puke & cry at 8:08 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Haha. I had been thinking about what I would post at this moment. I thought it would be "It's a whole new world" But all I want to type is this:

FUCK YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
posted by delmoi at 8:08 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Thank you America, and thank you to all the people who volunteered their time, money and hearts to achieving this historic, awesome event!!
posted by Hutch at 8:09 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

The Eagle has landed.
posted by hangashore at 8:09 PM on November 4, 2008

NY Times just gave Obama the tick.
posted by awfurby at 8:09 PM on November 4, 2008

President Obama. PRESIDENT Obama. YES WE CAN!

Tearing up here, just so happy and hopeful.
posted by booksherpa at 8:09 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Care to wager on a percentage? 15%?
posted by chuckdarwin at 8:09 PM on November 4, 2008

Awesome. Just awesome.
posted by drezdn at 8:09 PM on November 4, 2008

This... ROCKS THE HOUSE IN.
posted by Kikkoman at 8:09 PM on November 4, 2008

GOD BLESS AMERICA !!! *






*Except California
posted by mazola at 8:09 PM on November 4, 2008

YEAAASSSS! All the networks were really just waiting out the clock on that one weren't they. :) Happy happy happy. Thank you America, that's a great start. Four years now... the clock is ticking. :)
posted by adamt at 8:10 PM on November 4, 2008

Oh thank goodness.
posted by Schlimmbesserung at 8:10 PM on November 4, 2008

Holy shit, guys, this country may be worth fighting for. MSNBC is now at 297.
posted by maxwelton at 8:10 PM on November 4, 2008

YES!!
posted by various at 8:10 PM on November 4, 2008

Florida goes to BARACK HUSSEIN HOPEBAMA
posted by lukemeister at 8:10 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Merry Christmas Lord Chancellor, and good luck to you.
posted by sfts2 at 8:10 PM on November 4, 2008

Hoooooooooooooooooooooray!
posted by ageispolis at 8:10 PM on November 4, 2008

Yes, we fucking did.
posted by toastedbeagle at 8:10 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Well done America!

Even Maverick county, Texas looks like it's going blue tonight.
posted by bonehead at 8:10 PM on November 4, 2008

Very well done. It is a great moment in the world's history. A big new hope.
Thank you America!
posted by carmina at 8:10 PM on November 4, 2008

WHAT NOW?

Now we get to work. This is going to be great.
posted by penduluum at 8:10 PM on November 4, 2008 [4 favorites]

Yes, yes, yes!
posted by marginaliana at 8:11 PM on November 4, 2008

All I have to drink is pumpkin beer...OMG...fireworks going off from the development next door...

FAKE VIRGINIA NOW AND FOREVER!
posted by JoanArkham at 8:11 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Wow. 1964 to 2008 doesn't seem all that far apart. Good job.

Tomorrow is a working day, and the economy is going to hell rather quickly, but at least we got one thing right.
posted by krinklyfig at 8:11 PM on November 4, 2008

If Prop 8 goes down in the flames (and the Florida marriage thing), this will be a near-perfect night.

Oh, and if Michelle Bachman is voted out.

And Al Franken wins.

Basically, I want too much.
posted by Joey Michaels at 8:11 PM on November 4, 2008

ding, dong, the witch is dead!
posted by UbuRoivas at 8:12 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

*cries*

NO PESSIMISM TODAY. NO BITTERNESS. JOY.
posted by chuckdarwin at 8:12 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

For those who care, the map on the Seattle PI shows 3rd party candidates.

Barr seems to be flipping the scale in IN and NC. Should Obama take these, leftie liberals should save a piece of their (bleeding) heart for the libertarian party after this one.

Ron Paul got into the ballot in a couple states, is getting as much 1.7% in Montana. If this turns out giving MT to Obama, y'all better start GOOGLING RON PAUL in return.

Nader got some >1%'s, Barr got a few >0.5%, Baldwin gets some showings on the Bible belt...

At Louisiana McKinney gets 0.5% (seems to be her biggest showing yet)... It is a complete mystery why Louisiana suddenly cares so much about climate change... :)
posted by qvantamon at 8:12 PM on November 4, 2008

No one pinch me - I still can't believe it's real.
posted by Twicketface at 8:12 PM on November 4, 2008

Beautiful.
posted by carter at 8:12 PM on November 4, 2008

Oh thank you sweet Jesus. Maybe my kid's future isn't fucked up after all.
posted by emjaybee at 8:12 PM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

Nice work team. Hugs!
posted by jessamyn at 8:13 PM on November 4, 2008 [5 favorites]

Barack Obama; I approve.
posted by axismundi at 8:13 PM on November 4, 2008

Nice one y'all :)
posted by BishopsLoveScifi at 8:14 PM on November 4, 2008

I saw Al Gore endorse Obama in Detroit. There was so much hope there. Now I really truly know that YES WE CAN!
posted by andeles at 8:14 PM on November 4, 2008

I just can't believe it. Really? We did it?! I am so proud.
posted by Mamapotomus at 8:14 PM on November 4, 2008

President Elect Obama.

Oh my god. This is so fucking wonderful. God Bless America!

People on MSNBC are talking about how the generational divide in terms of supporters. For voters older then Obama, the breaking of the racial line is a much bigger deal. For people younger, this is just turning the page on the bush administration and all that horrible stuff, and having a "real" and unapologetic liberal getting elected.

Both are great. What an Amazing day.
posted by delmoi at 8:14 PM on November 4, 2008

And... exhale!

and fall down and curl up in ball of sobbing exhaustion....
posted by rokusan at 8:15 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

From Jefferson and the Declaration of Independence, to Lincoln, to M.L.K. and now a screaming came across the sky.
posted by pianomover at 8:15 PM on November 4, 2008

This is the most cheering in the streets I've heard since New Year's 2000. Yay!
posted by gubo at 8:15 PM on November 4, 2008

I cannot stop crying. This is the most extraordinary thing I've ever witnessed, and I am so humbled and honored to have been a part of it. God damn, this is awesome. I love y'all.

Also, AP is reporting that McCain has made The Call. FUCK YEAH.
posted by shiu mai baby at 8:15 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

YES!

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. To everybody who busted their ass, and to everybody who just cast a single vote for change. Thank you.
posted by cashman at 8:15 PM on November 4, 2008

Our ABC affiliate just said McCain has called to concede already?!?!?!
posted by Lucinda at 8:15 PM on November 4, 2008

Great news.

Let's hope Bush doesn't push the Rapture button...
posted by rodgerd at 8:15 PM on November 4, 2008

This is the best thing to happen in some time.

Let's go to work.
posted by now i'm piste at 8:15 PM on November 4, 2008

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
posted by Caduceus at 8:16 PM on November 4, 2008

Okay Yanks, you've redeemed yourself for now, but Transformers 2 better be fucking awesome or you're going right back in my little book!
posted by turgid dahlia at 8:16 PM on November 4, 2008 [7 favorites]

Florida goes Obama.
posted by Morrigan at 8:16 PM on November 4, 2008

Thank you, America, thank you.
posted by vac2003 at 8:16 PM on November 4, 2008

I'm so happy for you. And for the rest of us. YES YOU DID.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 8:16 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Metafilter is lagging like Gore invented it.
posted by gman at 8:16 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

I'M A BLUE-STATER AGAIN! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!
posted by brain cloud at 8:17 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

and nice one Toot!
posted by edd at 8:17 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Best. Election. Ever.
posted by swift at 8:17 PM on November 4, 2008 [5 favorites]

I voted for Obama. I voted in Memphis, 1400 miles from my home in MA. This was my first time at the age of 28. Does it always feel this good?
posted by Arquimedez Pozo at 8:17 PM on November 4, 2008

Moving close-in crowd shot of Jesse Jackson's tear-filled eyes at Grant Park, on FOX, for chrissake.
posted by mwhybark at 8:17 PM on November 4, 2008

John Lewis is on MSBNC.
posted by delmoi at 8:17 PM on November 4, 2008

My country,' tis of thee,
sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing;
land where our fathers died,
land of the pilgrims' pride,
from every mountainside let freedom ring!

My native country, thee,
land of the noble free, thy name I love;
I love thy rocks and rills,
thy woods and templed hills;
my heart with rapture thrills, like that above.

Let music swell the breeze,
and ring from all the trees sweet freedom's song;
let mortal tongues awake;
let all that breathe partake;
let rocks their silence break, the sound prolong.
posted by anastasiav at 8:17 PM on November 4, 2008

All our Gods Bless America!
posted by theCroft at 8:17 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

::sigh::

NPR said that McCain called to concede. Now I can take a deep breath. And smile.

Oatmeal chocolate-chip cookies for everyone!

(with vodka & cranberry juice, no less.)
posted by epersonae at 8:17 PM on November 4, 2008

How bad did Bush fuck up?

America just chose a black man named Barack Hussein Obama as next president of the United States.
posted by thewittyname at 8:17 PM on November 4, 2008 [20 favorites]

Thank you America! Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
THE NEOCONSERVATIVE ERA IS OVER.
god that felt good.
posted by Monsters at 8:17 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Ah fuck.
posted by ageispolis at 8:18 PM on November 4, 2008

Jesse Jackson is crying on MSNBC.
posted by vibrotronica at 8:18 PM on November 4, 2008

President-Elect Barack Hussein Obama. Hell yeah.
posted by EarBucket at 8:18 PM on November 4, 2008

McCain has called Obama to concede. The dealers across the park from my house are shooting into the air.
posted by Pollomacho at 8:18 PM on November 4, 2008

Jesse Jackson is crying on Cspan. It's making me cry more.
posted by winna at 8:18 PM on November 4, 2008

44! What an incredible relief it is to have this decided. Thanks to everyone who volunteered their time to help make it happen.
posted by des at 8:18 PM on November 4, 2008

Congratulations US mefites. Enjoy your election party.

Later people will call this moment the end of the dark age.
posted by jouke at 8:18 PM on November 4, 2008

Oh god, please show me some of Sarah Palin's tears.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 8:18 PM on November 4, 2008

Holograms! I knew it!
posted by gman at 8:18 PM on November 4, 2008

Hehehe... my girls (1 and 3) don't understand what Daddy's so happy about and why we're dancing. But they're happy to leap about with me! :)
posted by adamt at 8:18 PM on November 4, 2008

Man, in a way I really wish I was still in the East SF Bay. I bet Oakland is going nuts (hopefully in a good way).
posted by krinklyfig at 8:19 PM on November 4, 2008

Now fucking close Guantanamo Bay already, stop the renditions, and outlaw torture.
posted by KokuRyu at 8:19 PM on November 4, 2008 [5 favorites]

McCain has conceded! His speech is being broadcast on NPR now!
posted by me & my monkey at 8:19 PM on November 4, 2008

Damn, fireworks and cheers and car horns outside here in West Philly! Sounds louder than winning the World Series!
posted by carter at 8:19 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Anyone notice that Sarah Palin is wearing blue during the concession speech!
posted by Maishe at 8:19 PM on November 4, 2008

McCain supporters actively booing Obama at start of concession speech. Fuckers.
posted by cortex at 8:19 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Oh dear God!
posted by ramix at 8:20 PM on November 4, 2008

Holy shit. Obama is winning IN. Holy Shit.

This one's for you, Barack!
posted by paisley henosis at 8:20 PM on November 4, 2008

For once in my life, I completely agree with Adam Nagourney:

Mr. Obama’s election amounted to a national catharsis — a repudiation of a historically unpopular Republican president and his economic and foreign policies, and an embrace of Mr. Obama’s call for a change in the direction and the tone of the country.

posted by Zonker at 8:20 PM on November 4, 2008

Wow, Obama's way ahead in Montana and Nevada.
posted by krinklyfig at 8:20 PM on November 4, 2008

McCain is conceding.
posted by drezdn at 8:20 PM on November 4, 2008

How many N-bombs are McCain supporters gonna drop during this speech?
posted by gman at 8:20 PM on November 4, 2008

Oh god. I can't believe this.

I'm grinning and tearing up and it's like I'm losing my mind, but in a good way.

MeFites, thanks for keeping me so informed.

America... it's time. We're gonna get better.
posted by cmyk at 8:20 PM on November 4, 2008

A sane President for the U.S. and a warm bed for me. Hooray!
posted by ersatz at 8:20 PM on November 4, 2008

This concession speech is classy so far.
posted by sugarfish at 8:20 PM on November 4, 2008

oh. my. god.

breathless.

hope.

*crying*
posted by exlotuseater at 8:21 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

McCain is giving a classy concession speech. I'm actually kind of surprised (and relieved).
posted by amyms at 8:21 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Tampa, FL: there are fireworks going off outside my house in my (mostly African-American) neighborhood. Outstanding.
posted by penduluum at 8:21 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

The dealers across the park from my house are shooting into the air.

Mine, too!

It makes me wish I had a gun to shoot in the air.
posted by winna at 8:21 PM on November 4, 2008

To those shitbirds who just booed Obama during McCain's concession speech: Don't boo. Vote—next time.
posted by emelenjr at 8:21 PM on November 4, 2008

desuetude - yeah, it’s typical of wannabe “terrorists”. You get a few true believers. But they soon become cynical.
And really - good. They need a dose of reality. “Oh, most folks just want to get up and go to work tomorrow and aren’t involved in a giant conspiracy to oppress us? Huh. Ok. ...I should probably get some work myself. Maybe volunteer politically. ... Jesus, I gotta get my head out of my ass, only people I know are fanatics or gangsters.”
posted by Smedleyman at 8:21 PM on November 4, 2008

McCain is giving the best speech of his career.
posted by chuckdarwin at 8:21 PM on November 4, 2008 [11 favorites]

DONE DEAL! ITS A DONE FUCKING DEAL PEOPLE!!!

I'm listening to McCain's speech...how many times do you think he practiced that one?
posted by baphomet at 8:22 PM on November 4, 2008

McCain himself actually sounding like a pretty dignified, classy motherfucker at the moment. Go him. Good on the crowd for figuring out to clap for the speech after only like three rounds of booing, I guess, too.
posted by cortex at 8:22 PM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

God bless, America.
posted by The Bellman at 8:22 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

To those shitbirds who just booed Obama during McCain's concession speech: Don't boo. Vote.


Oh, wait.
posted by emelenjr at 8:23 PM on November 4, 2008

Wow. Listening to McCain's concession speech makes me regain almost - almost - all the respect I lost for him during the campaign.
posted by googly at 8:23 PM on November 4, 2008 [4 favorites]

Obama-

This is twice I voted for you. Don't let me down, my friend.

♥
posted by paisley henosis at 8:23 PM on November 4, 2008

He's doing the right thing - trying a bit to undo the damage he's done.
posted by jasper411 at 8:23 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

It makes me wish I had a gun to shoot in the air.

Us too! It's been a house meme tonight.
posted by rtha at 8:24 PM on November 4, 2008

http://isobamapresident.com/
posted by cashman at 8:25 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Seems like there's a lot of tension between McCain and his crowd.

Oh well, I'm not going to worry about it today. There is plenty of time for schadenfreude later. Today I'm just happy :)

Biggest cheer is for Sarah Palin. Heh.
posted by delmoi at 8:25 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

COME ON, INDIANA. COME ONNNNNNNNNN. Make this day perfect!
posted by web-goddess at 8:25 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

woot
posted by afu at 8:25 PM on November 4, 2008

McCain zigged to the right when he should have zagged to the center. He seems like he's a decent human at his core who surrounded himself with horrible advisors.
posted by drezdn at 8:25 PM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

Concession time!
Graceful exit speech. If only he'd talked like that during the election trail, with dignity and respect.
posted by jmd82 at 8:25 PM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

She's about to cry.
posted by sanko at 8:25 PM on November 4, 2008

These Premises Are Alarmed writes "NBC calls VT for Obama. Way Ballsy."

Civil_Disobedient called the whole thing for Obama back in '05
posted by Mitheral at 8:25 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

I was kind of hoping for a capstone "Drill, Baby, Drill" chant, here. Oh well.
posted by cortex at 8:25 PM on November 4, 2008

Good speech, McCain. Wish we had seen a bit more of that spirit during the campaign, but I think he means it, so good for him. He's a gracious loser, and I think he'll end up working with Obama next year.

Bye, Sarah! Bye! Dress warm! I hear it's gonna be a cold winter!
posted by krinklyfig at 8:26 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Why does he sound more human in defeat?
posted by chuckdarwin at 8:26 PM on November 4, 2008

Okay, now on to our next battle . . .

COCENTRATE ALL FIRE ON THAT FILLIBUSTER-PROOF SENATE!
posted by Lord Chancellor at 8:26 PM on November 4, 2008

As usual, Todd looks fuckin' amazing.
posted by gman at 8:26 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Fighting the urge to go wake my daughters(2 and 4). They're huge Obama fans, but they're bigger fans of sleep.
posted by ColdChef at 8:26 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

We are a truly great country tonight.
posted by billypilgrim at 8:27 PM on November 4, 2008

I once spent an evening on the phone with a very close friend of mine trying to come up with a toast, so that when we went out drinking, she and I would have something classy to say to each other or to whoever we were with. I looked up some toasts on Metafilter, as I recall.

The one we eventually came up with was "May we be braver tomorrow."

Hey Metafilter -- this was incredible. The bravery, and the hopefulness, and the fierce passion of the people here and all over America has been incredible to experience. Together, all of us giving what we could, we have begun to change the world. We did it.

Cheers. Let's be braver tomorrow.
posted by penduluum at 8:27 PM on November 4, 2008 [4 favorites]

Oh well, at least their booing again.
posted by cortex at 8:27 PM on November 4, 2008

Gotta love Grant Park getting downed by McCain's concession speech (and the boos for Palin). It's gonna make God's appearance in a few minutes that much more intense. Shut up already loser.
posted by HyperBlue at 8:27 PM on November 4, 2008

Gah, they're booing again at the McCain speech. Assholes.
posted by DiscourseMarker at 8:27 PM on November 4, 2008

McCain is classy, too bad this shitheads in the crowd are the exact opposite.
posted by puke & cry at 8:27 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Congratulations to President Elect Obama. And way to go out on a classy note, John.

And jeez, hat, I said I was kidding.
posted by JaredSeth at 8:27 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

W00T!
posted by Divine_Wino at 8:27 PM on November 4, 2008

*still* with the booing. Jebus.
posted by sanko at 8:28 PM on November 4, 2008

We are the champions!

My friends
posted by schyler523 at 8:28 PM on November 4, 2008

I hate every one of those booing fuckers in his audience. Classless, spineless, jingoistic neanderthals. Fuck you, you lost, you fucking graceless fucks.
posted by shiu mai baby at 8:28 PM on November 4, 2008

Weird concession speech. Started out very classy, showed he doesn't grok race, took all the responsibility (classy) annointed Palin, got weird again.

The boos whenever Obama or Biden were mentioned were nasty. Very nasty.

(Fireworks, yells and horns outside in SE Baltimore.)
posted by QIbHom at 8:28 PM on November 4, 2008

Ok, just have to say: I was at opening night of Spamalot in Ottawa tonight,
and when the Knight who formerly said Ni told Arthur what they now are... he broke to a report of the election in "that silly country to the south" for an entire minute, and the entire theatre burst out in applause at the news of Obama's lead.

Arthur, still in character, waiting through the whole thing, replied: "Gosh". :D
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 8:28 PM on November 4, 2008 [12 favorites]

They're. Darned scotch.
posted by cortex at 8:28 PM on November 4, 2008

America, fuck yeah! (non-ironically for once)
posted by Who_Am_I at 8:28 PM on November 4, 2008

McCain did great. The crowd was rude.
posted by effwerd at 8:28 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

I think over the next few weeks McCain will counter some of the things he's said in the past few months, or at least try to downplay them. His heart never seemed to be totally into some of stands he took. And there have been so many moments in this campaign where he seemed outright embarrassed of his supporters.
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 8:29 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Fighting the urge to go wake my daughters(2 and 4). They're huge Obama fans, but they're bigger fans of sleep.

DUDE. It's history. Wake 'em.
posted by gman at 8:29 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Good riddance, GOP, and the train wreck you leave behind.
posted by mkultra at 8:29 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

John McCain, that's the way you do it. Thank you for the gracious speech. I hope your followers listened.

Except for the Sarah Palin part. Really, fuck her.
posted by brain cloud at 8:29 PM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

Has Joe the Plumber issued a statement yet?
posted by mazola at 8:29 PM on November 4, 2008 [5 favorites]

YESSSSSSSSS.
posted by boo_radley at 8:29 PM on November 4, 2008

Did I imagine it, or did some people in McCain's crowd boo Sarah Palin? Maybe it was a "whoooo" but it sure sounded like booing. It was a concession speech that showed him to be more decent than his campaign might imply.
posted by donnagirl at 8:29 PM on November 4, 2008

Fireworks going off in Louisiana. (at least I hope those are fireworks)
posted by ColdChef at 8:29 PM on November 4, 2008

I voted last week in the bluest dot on the bluest dot in bluest North East Ohio, but entirely by coincidence, I'm in Chi for business.

So, enough TV / Internet for me.

I'm off to join all those beautiful beautiful kids down at Grant Park.
posted by Herodios at 8:30 PM on November 4, 2008

There's a huge crowd outside the fence of the White House, cheering their brains out.
posted by Flunkie at 8:30 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

USA USA USA USA... WTF is with that?
posted by KokuRyu at 8:30 PM on November 4, 2008

Congratulations to my American cousins, I'm so happy for you all!!

Wow, it's really making me cringe & feel embarrassed when McCain's supporters boo like that, it's so classless.
posted by zarah at 8:30 PM on November 4, 2008

GWB called Michelle Obama Barack's 'good bride?' Am I drunk or is that weird?
posted by sugarfish at 8:31 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Damn, now I have a sudden urge to go out and find an American flag & hang it out the front of my house for a while.

I wonder if the staff at the consulate would be too busy to notice me 'borrowing' one...?
posted by UbuRoivas at 8:31 PM on November 4, 2008

McCain is so much a better person that his supporters.
posted by gingerbeer at 8:31 PM on November 4, 2008 [7 favorites]

We did a beautiful thing.
posted by dirigibleman at 8:31 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Wow. Very gracious concession speech. Might have been sincere, even.
posted by bumpkin at 8:31 PM on November 4, 2008

Excellent speech by McCain. Very classy.
posted by purephase at 8:31 PM on November 4, 2008

McCain zigged to the right when he should have zagged to the center. He seems like he's a decent human at his core who surrounded himself with horrible advisors.

Well, he took their advice. It was his choice. McCain is the master of getting slack cut.
posted by delmoi at 8:31 PM on November 4, 2008

There's still a lot of work to be done, but for fuck's sake:

AMERICA IS BACK!
posted by bardic at 8:31 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Holy shit. They did it.
Haven't cried so frequently in one day in a long while.
posted by Shutter at 8:31 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

jessamyn got the ball rolling with Vermont's 3 electoral votes!
posted by lukemeister at 8:31 PM on November 4, 2008

This is bittersweet. No more Bush and Palin ain't gonna be there to replace the laughs.
posted by gman at 8:32 PM on November 4, 2008

From a Canadian cousin:

Thank you, thank you, thank you to the better angels of America.
posted by Neiltupper at 8:32 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Now we try, hard, and with a serious and thoughtful effort, to figure out exactly why Sarah Palin is so attractive to some people, and what fundamental needs of theirs are not being met otherwise. Then we try to figure out how to fill those needs without the possible side effects that electing such a divisive person would bring.

We work very very hard to bring the country together, so that we stand a chance at getting this "change" thing to actually work. If half the country hates it, it won't work.

We seriously try to learn what it is that Obama supporters don't get about people who supported McCain and/or George W. Bush. We don't assume they are all stupid or ignorant; we start from the position that there's something important to learn from them, and we do what needs to be done to learn it, and then we show them that we've learned it -- so that they all don't feel like they have to emigrate just because their "side" lost.

We guard Mr. Obama's personal safety. A big part of that will be defusing whatever tensions result from his winning the presidency. In some cases, that may be impossible, but you won't personally know in the specific instance you encounter (in line at the bank, talking with your Republican brother, nephew, neighbor's teenager) unless you START by receiving information, think seriously and creatively about what to do about that information, then try something -- probably something small, and extremely respectful, like a very low-key conversation -- and then, in a perfect world, share what you learn with others.

We won't really win if we waste all this energy gloating. Are you educated? Are you empathetic? Are you a good listener? Are you clever? Are you a good problem solver? Use it.

Enduring, significant change doesn't really happen from the top down. Real work is ahead of every American. This election reflects huge changes that have already happened, in the minds of ourselves and our neighbors. We have to continue that, and it will take a lot of gentleness.
posted by amtho at 8:32 PM on November 4, 2008 [31 favorites]

Here are some Obama songs from around the world for you to play at your party. I was going to do an FPP, but what the hell.
posted by roll truck roll at 8:32 PM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

Dubya is in sooooo much trouble with his parents right now.
posted by mullingitover at 8:32 PM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

I'm crying and laughing and drinking champagne here in PA. Even though I had to pop the cork at like 7 pm because I was so nervous. Gobama!
posted by the littlest brussels sprout at 8:33 PM on November 4, 2008

It seemed like there were people booing the entire time during McCain's speech, although i guess those could have been "whoo"s.
posted by puke & cry at 8:33 PM on November 4, 2008

Fuck McCain for trying to save his soul in one easy speech after weeks of race baiting and smearing. You don't get off that easy, old man.
posted by fleetmouse at 8:33 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

It's been eight years since I've seen that guy (the one who just spoke). I missed him :-(

I'D BET THAT HE WROTE MOST OF THAT SPEECH HIMSELF.

This blowout can be blamed on his dipshit advisers, his rash decisions and his moronic running mate. He ran a weak campaign.
posted by chuckdarwin at 8:34 PM on November 4, 2008

/me chants "Obama! Obama! Obama!" and then passes out from exhaustion.
posted by octothorpe at 8:34 PM on November 4, 2008

America, fuck yeah.
posted by Rangeboy at 8:34 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Let's take this thread way over 5k!

My deepest thanks to every Metafilter member who volunteered in this election. You did an amazing job.
posted by drezdn at 8:34 PM on November 4, 2008

I want to say that McCain's speech was graceful and dignified blah blah and his booing supporters are a bunch of boorish yahoos, but you know, it was McCain and Palin who built that booing machine. Reap and sow, sow and reap.
posted by rtha at 8:34 PM on November 4, 2008

Feeling slightly sorry for McCain... but at least he swung for the fences.

(Not really feeling anything for Palin, however.)
posted by Kikkoman at 8:35 PM on November 4, 2008

Well done, America. Well done!
posted by adrianhon at 8:35 PM on November 4, 2008

McCain can make sense if he is himself. It's not a self I agree with, but it does seem to have integrity, as when he shushed the thugs in his audience tonight.
posted by carter at 8:35 PM on November 4, 2008

Okay, so I tried to wake my girls (2 and 4), but they're not having any of it. Well, at least we can dance at breakfast. Congratulations, America.
posted by ColdChef at 8:35 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

McCain just gave a concession speech. It's over. We won. We really did it. OMG. Go America!
posted by dejah420 at 8:35 PM on November 4, 2008

YES WE DID.

Thank you, my fellow Americans.
posted by Faint of Butt at 8:35 PM on November 4, 2008

Palin is not going away.
posted by amtho at 8:35 PM on November 4, 2008

IT IS NOT OVER UNTIL I GET TO SEE SEAN HANNITY CRY.
posted by bitter-girl.com at 8:35 PM on November 4, 2008 [10 favorites]

I'd just like to say that there are many, many cars honking outside on 125th Street here in Harlem, US. of A. Yelling, too. And it's not just the people trying to get into the McDonald's drive-in.

I am so happy that my usual cynical attitude is taking a powder. For a few days.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 8:36 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Yes. We. Did.
posted by EarBucket at 8:36 PM on November 4, 2008

Oh my God. thousands of people descending on the White House dancing and screaming "Bush Out" on Penn Avenue. I would be excited but it looked kind of scary actually
posted by jeanmari at 8:36 PM on November 4, 2008

Tina Fey has to be so happy that she only has to play Sarah Palin one more time.
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 8:36 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Yes. Yes. Yes. So good. So important. I can't even express things beyond that right now...

I'm so ridiculously happy that I was able to cast my vote and be a part of all of this.
posted by defenestration at 8:36 PM on November 4, 2008

I am so. excited.

I think the election-night parties for each candidate are just so quintessential of how their campaigns were run. McCain's in a luxury hotel ballroom, and I'm sure the only people there are the political elite or those with the money to buy their ways in. Obama rented out a whole fucking city park and gave out a million tickets over the internet. Everybody gets a chance to get involved.

I think this is pretty telling; courting the top five percent is not going to win you anything anymore. The populous expects better, and tonight they got it.
posted by backseatpilot at 8:37 PM on November 4, 2008

Can McCain try again in 2012? He'll only be 76.
posted by gman at 8:38 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

I wonder how long we're gonna see Brit Hume hang out in the wind until he hangs it up for the night.
posted by puke & cry at 8:38 PM on November 4, 2008

My hometown of Syracuse is getting its first Democrat in the House since 1981! Woooo!
posted by gubo at 8:39 PM on November 4, 2008

Congratulations Obama. Now don't fuck up.
posted by HFSH at 8:39 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

link to concession speech?
posted by boo_radley at 8:39 PM on November 4, 2008

I'm so giddy, I feel like it's all a dream. Somebody pinch me!
posted by amyms at 8:39 PM on November 4, 2008

One of my favorite moments of the evening so far: seeing the students at Spelman College completely overcome with tears and joy when NBC first called the election. One girl fell to her knees sobbing. I know "awesome" has become a seriously worn-out phrase in our modern lexicon, but tonight really is awesome. I am full of awe.
posted by shiu mai baby at 8:39 PM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

Thanks, Hillary.
posted by Ugh at 8:40 PM on November 4, 2008

paisley henosis - good point. ‘Course this was before I’d ever seen the guy.
Someone just said “blah blah blah ‘Barack Obama’ tortoise chimney algebra gazpacho” - something, something.

It’s been a while so maybe I don’t recollect clearly every single word or even the general gist.
I mean it could have been any of the land-dwelling reptiles of the family of Testudinidae and branches of mathematics in the study of structure, relation and quantity (geometry, say) in the context of any of the cold soups from cucumber to borscht.

But I remember them saying “Barack Obama” and me not knowing who the hell he was or his plausible relation to these things.

(The chimney thing I just threw in for verisimilitude.)

Still, y’know, whatever my point was, I totally mean it.
posted by Smedleyman at 8:40 PM on November 4, 2008

The "boos" when there were mentions of Obama/Biden during McCain's concession speech speaks volumes of the hate of his supporters.

Thank God that Hope, that Change and Civility has prevailed,

God Bless America. God Bless Our World.
posted by ericb at 8:40 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Booing is OK. They're just letting off steam. It would be nice if everyone would be as gracious as McCain, but a lot of the people in that crowd probably have a lot of time any energy invested and are at the end of a long road. If Obama lost, people would be really torn up. The Republican Party now has to find a way to move ahead and rebuild, and I think this sort of thing will diminish for a while, at least I hope so.
posted by krinklyfig at 8:40 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Also it is nice to see Elizabeth Dole's scummy campaign fail.
posted by boo_radley at 8:41 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Step 1: Elect Obama.
Step 2: ???
Step 3: A kinder, better America

As a canadian who likes to snark on you guys: congrats. The way these campaigns went means that the lion's share of the victory goes to the ground crew, to the random people calling / knocking / volunteering. Obama raised a record amount of cash, and did it with a record proportion of small donors. Yes you did.

Revel, Rejoice, Relish.
posted by Lemurrhea at 8:41 PM on November 4, 2008

Tina Fey has to be so happy that she only has to play Sarah Palin one more time.

We can only hope.
posted by Pollomacho at 8:41 PM on November 4, 2008

Obama is about to speak. Man I wish I was there.
McCain tried to be gracious, but I kept swearing at the tv anyway. At least we didn't have to listen to Palin (you betcha) Palin.
Fuck all those Repubican fearmongers. Their time has passed. It is a new day.
Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaa!
posted by dougzilla at 8:41 PM on November 4, 2008

Was I the only one who saw that on CSPAN? The anchors getting nervous and the crowds screaming outside of the White House? They are back to Grant Park now on CSPAN and the whole scene in DC made me incredibly nervous. It was like I was watching them getting ready to storm the barricades during Les Miz. They couldn't tell if there was violence or just celebration. Anyone know what is going on?
posted by jeanmari at 8:42 PM on November 4, 2008

Hear that faint sound? That's us, just a few of us, in the reddest corner of Idaho, cheering.
posted by gamera at 8:42 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Fuck, Texas almost went blue. That would have been great. We have some good wins in DFW though.
posted by puke & cry at 8:42 PM on November 4, 2008

It makes me wish I had a gun to shoot in the air.

I would like to point out that this is the very first sign of the impending total Islamification of the US.
posted by UbuRoivas at 8:42 PM on November 4, 2008 [4 favorites]

So, when does Scruffy the janitor pull the plug on Fox News? Hopefully during the middle of someone's sentence.
posted by ninjew at 8:42 PM on November 4, 2008

40 minutes in and the goosebumps haven't stopped.
posted by deborah at 8:42 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

One more thing-

I know this is an insult/curse, but I mean it in the most optimistic way possible:

May we live in interesting times.
posted by backseatpilot at 8:43 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

I remember booing when Kerry conceded to Bush...
posted by PenDevil at 8:43 PM on November 4, 2008

The Veuve Clicquot has been opened; I will sleep soundly tonight.
posted by TedW at 8:43 PM on November 4, 2008

And to think all that Malia and Sasha are looking forward to is now finally getting that puppy that is promised to them!
posted by Maishe at 8:43 PM on November 4, 2008 [5 favorites]

The people that booed are still in campaign character, since they've been trained to boo whenever Obama is mentioned directly or indirectly. They just don't know that you put away that character once the concession speech starts and play the humbled and gracious character.
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 8:45 PM on November 4, 2008

Palin is not going away.

Historically, losing VP candidates don't usually do that well when they try to run again. She may not think she's going away, but I think she's about six or seven years too late with her backwoods reactionary shtick. I don't think her party is going to be eager to embrace her again.
posted by krinklyfig at 8:45 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

America, fuck yeah.

I think that's the first time I'll ever be drinking to that.

America. Fuck yeah.
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 8:45 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

People are cheering in the streets of Boston outside my windows.
posted by swerve at 8:45 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

jeanmari, I saw that too. It looked more like a riot than a celebration to me, and they cut away from it awfully damn fast.
posted by donnagirl at 8:45 PM on November 4, 2008

Links to concession speech:

http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_plank/archive/2008/11/04/mccain-s-concession-speech.aspx

http://news.jacksonville.com/elections2008/2008/11/after-mccains-concession-speech-partiers-at-the-ritz-theateraint-no-stopping-us-now/

http://news.google.com/news?q=mccain%20concession%20speech&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&sa=N&tab=wn

Also: Live feed of the Obama Rally from Chicago and the McCain rally in another tab. They may have video on demand of the concession speech.

http://www.c-span.org/politics/Election-Cam-Obama.aspx (it seems freaky in firefox, but I got it running in IE
posted by dejah420 at 8:46 PM on November 4, 2008

I'm waiting for Obama's acceptance speech. "SUCKERS!"
posted by Eideteker at 8:46 PM on November 4, 2008

Hahaha, Gore Vidal on BBC is still grumpy about the Republicans.

(Also immediately after McCain's concession speech Seattle's nuts in the CapHill district)
posted by amuseDetachment at 8:47 PM on November 4, 2008

KO'ed.
posted by gman at 8:48 PM on November 4, 2008

Okay, pizza guy pointed at my door with the big YES WE CAN sign and shouted YES WE DID! PRESIDENT OBAMA! with a big ole smile on his face!
posted by nax at 8:49 PM on November 4, 2008 [5 favorites]

Gore Vidal on the BBC is the best entertainment I've had all night.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 8:49 PM on November 4, 2008

Yay! I can legitimately taste manflesh again!

After I do my stats homework and eat dinner, I guess.
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 8:49 PM on November 4, 2008

Rove on Fox talking about how Obama's win doesn't represent a vote against conservatism since everyone knows that Obama is really a centrist and not a liberal.

Fearful Conservatives Push New Talking Point: ‘This Is A Center-Right Country’
posted by ericb at 8:49 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

It's a strange feeling... being proud of my country... I'm not used to it, but I think I like it
posted by Grimp0teuthis at 8:50 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

It's PARTY TIME!"
posted by troy at 8:52 PM on November 4, 2008

What's going on with Prop 8? Any word?
posted by nax at 8:52 PM on November 4, 2008

Since I was precluded from participating in your election, I vote we allot the 2008th comment to Obama on the off chance we have the best drop-in EVER.
posted by gman at 8:53 PM on November 4, 2008

This is a hell of a thing. I wish I was in Grant Park right now.
posted by the duck by the oboe at 8:53 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

My god, we did it! We pulled it off! I was here, I saw it, I helped! I saw it happen!
posted by merelyglib at 8:54 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Note to Bush: *That* is what political capital looks like!
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 8:54 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

krinklyfig - Maybe, maybe not, on the Republican party embracing her. Some people love her, and if I were her, I'd be thinking, "do I really need the Republican party"? Prolly yes, but don't underestimate her intelligence. And remember there are different kinds of real intelligence.

And if not her, specifically, then you have to believe that whoever scouts around looking for potential candidates will keep her special sparkle in mind.

I have found her candidacy a bit worrisome. But there's something there, and maybe not just her face, and maybe it's not even that new a thing, but we need to take it seriously.
posted by amtho at 8:56 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Obama's opening his transition office tomorrow at noon? That makes me hard.
posted by gman at 8:56 PM on November 4, 2008 [4 favorites]

This thread was at 1776 comments when I just reloaded it for the first time since I started watching election night coverage. Fitting.
posted by casarkos at 8:56 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Okay, Tivo caught it and I pushed record. Here is a rough transcript:

Anchor: But Henry Chant (?), who has witnessed a lot of things in the American capitol (blah, blah, blah) and Henry, I've got to get your thoughts on watching John McCain exit the Presidential stage...

Henry (standing outside of the White House but inside of the fence): There is absolutely no question about that, but I must turn to another event, we've had something extraordinary happen here. (Looks nervously to his right off camera, you can here screaming crowds) Thousands of young people have gathered outside of, uh, the White House and we can hear them coming from blocks. There are crowds of them coming down Pennsylvania Avenue. They started out shouting that football slogan, "hey, hey, hey, way to go (or will you go?)" They've been shouting "Bush out! Bush out!" (keeps looking off camera) Shouting for Obama. Secret Service people have now moved into the area. And the crowd is (gestures to the cameraman) if you could just swing over there, just show them, he's going to pick it up there...

(camera pans to the right...dark, looks like large crowd and sounds very loud but difficult to see)

Henry:...but you can see the crowd gathering. And they've surrounded a police car there. We've seen no incidents yet of violence but there is a lot of excitement and as I say because there is no traffic in this area, you can hear all sorts of shouting from various streets. And many, many more I can see are coming, running down the street, joining this crowd. As I say, it was not planned, it was a demonstration that has just broken out shortly after Barack Obama was named by the American networks as being the new President-Elect. You can hear the sound of...the noise there...you can see the lights and the flashes of, of newsman who left the White House to go over there and take pictures...and there seems to be some organization in the sense that there are a lot of whistle blowers seem to be directing the crowd. As I say, it could be Secret Service by some surprise...but you can see that they are mobilizing along the fence. And there's this sort of dancing, shouting in the middle...
posted by jeanmari at 8:56 PM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

I can only wonder how magnificence it must be to be at Grant Park right now.
posted by puke & cry at 8:57 PM on November 4, 2008

Dick Cheney said that Bush's victory in 2004 was a "mandate." The final spread was 51 to 48.

What's that make this one?

Point being, expect plenty of "librul media" calls for bi-partisanship as well, since gosh shucks this election was just so darn close.

Seriously people, our work is just beginning. People are going to organzie for Obama's impeachment even before he takes freakin' office.

Stay involved. This was a good first battle to win, but the war is far from over.
posted by bardic at 8:57 PM on November 4, 2008

An Obama Presidency: Cooperation will reign over Confrontation.
posted by ericb at 8:58 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

President-Elect Obama,

That's fucking excellent to hear.
posted by krinklyfig at 8:58 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Don't anyone even suggest it...
posted by gman at 8:58 PM on November 4, 2008

Rove on Fox talking about how Obama's win doesn't represent a vote against conservatism since everyone knows that Obama is really a centrist and not a liberal.

Fearful Conservatives Push New Talking Point: ‘This Is A Center-Right Country’

You know what's great about all of this? We no longer have to spend ten seconds thinking about what these idiots have to say. Maybe sometime soon we will but for now? I don't hate them, I'm not angry at them. I'm just not thinking about them at all.

Obama is waving to the crowds. I hope he says "Yes we did!"
posted by delmoi at 8:59 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Wow - we have a President again that actually seems Presidential. Seeing him standing there is even cooler than I thought it was going to be.
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 8:59 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

*organize
posted by bardic at 8:59 PM on November 4, 2008

The new First Family takes the stage in Grant Park, Chicago.

I weep out of happiness and relief that we got this right!
posted by ericb at 8:59 PM on November 4, 2008

Dude just makes me smile.
posted by gman at 8:59 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

*sniffs*

Yes. Yes we could.

And can

And will.
posted by 1f2frfbf at 8:59 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Hell yes, we did. And can we now please start addressing the "Muslim" crap with a rational discussion of why Islam != terrorism? Please? Barry?
posted by ocha-no-mizu at 9:00 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

He left out Muslims.
posted by gman at 9:00 PM on November 4, 2008

And those people weren't booing. They were cheering "Bo-arack! BO-ARACK!!"
posted by UbuRoivas at 9:00 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

You know, I liked that book when it came out, of Americans half-tongue-in-cheek apologizing to the rest of the world for Bush's second term. It was cute and the pain was palpable.

Anyone putting together a "You Rock!" book in return, I want in.
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 9:01 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

IT'S A NEW DAY!
posted by gman at 9:02 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Wow. I no longer have to cringe when I hear the President speak!
posted by Kikkoman at 9:02 PM on November 4, 2008 [7 favorites]

Obama crowd cheers McCain. Not very loudly, but still.
posted by delmoi at 9:02 PM on November 4, 2008

Wow. Anyone else living overseas suddenly feel like it's okay to move back home now? I honestly didn't think it was going to work, and now, I'm so fucking relieved, I can't even function. Seriously. The last 8 years, moving home didn't even seem like an option. It's like a whole new world has opened up for me, and maybe, someday, I can actually call my home "home" again.
posted by Ghidorah at 9:02 PM on November 4, 2008

Now see, when Obama mentioned McCain, the Grant Park crowd didn't boo. *That's* how it's done, people.
posted by DiscourseMarker at 9:02 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

For the first time in over eight years: America. Fuck, yeah.

This is what it's like to not feel ashamed of one's politicians for once? ... I ... I like it.
posted by barnacles at 9:03 PM on November 4, 2008

One of the things I love about modern election maps is how, as you watch the returns come in, you pick up interesting little things about the states. For example, for years to come, any time I need to go to some happy little place in my soul, I'm going to think, "Jefferson Davis County, MS; Barack Obama 60.6%, John McCain 38.9%"
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 9:03 PM on November 4, 2008 [5 favorites]

My son was at the 2004 Dem convention. He called me the night Obama gave his speech and told me he had just heard the man he thought that could be the first African-American president. He is at a party in Syracuse tonight.
posted by bjgeiger at 9:03 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

BARACK OBAMA IS THE FUCKING PRESIDENT OF THE USA!!!

Granted I'm drunk, happy, but am still able to appreciate the impact of this event.

How far we've come as a nation.

Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stand proud tonight!
posted by ericb at 9:04 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

PUPPIES
posted by cortex at 9:04 PM on November 4, 2008 [13 favorites]

Oprah's not front row? Who gets to stand in front of Oprah?
posted by penduluum at 9:04 PM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

gman, careful with the New Day stuff. We all know that right after they start talking about that stuff, Carcetti finds the city is broke, the newspaper starts printing bullshit, and McNulty starts drinking again...
posted by Ghidorah at 9:04 PM on November 4, 2008 [5 favorites]

yay! Malia & Sasha get the puppy!
posted by Maishe at 9:04 PM on November 4, 2008 [4 favorites]

It sucks his gradma had to die yesterday, he seems a little down. I wish this could be an unalloyed joy for him like it is for us.

Oh well.
posted by delmoi at 9:04 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

New puppy!
posted by QIbHom at 9:04 PM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

Beautiful. You guys actually did it.

MSNBC currently has Obama at 338 EV's, with 51% of the popular vote. Senate is +5 Dem. It keeps going up, like a slot machine hitting a jackpot. That is a frickin' mandate. And the world is largely participating in it : they're celebrating in Kenya, for Xenu's sake.

I feel an immense amount of relief: this election was over so quickly compared to the nail-biters of the past eight years.

President-Elect Obama has a great deal of work ahead of him... as does the United States. You all deserve the greatest of respect and thanks. It really does seem like it took two turns being burned and fooled and misdirected... but finally, enough citizens came through, and pushed back.

Tonight, and tomorrow, is a time for celebration and happiness and simply radiating in the pleasure of a job well done that so many of you - standing in line for hours so you could make your voice heard, those who donated to the campaign despite frightening economic times, and the many American MeFites who worked in polling, in election centers, registering voters, making calls, and campaigning on the street - participated in.

Thursday, Friday, and the weekend will be a chance to recover. And I'm sure we will have a chance to discuss what changes need to happen next.

But please, please, on Monday, do not lose this momentum. Don't put it away for another four years. We might disagree what needs to happen, but we can all agree that there's a lot of work to do in the United States, a lot of hurt to heal. This beautiful, open acknowledgment and display of unity can do a great deal.

Celebrate. Feel pride. Feel joy. Feel relief. And on Monday, start to mentally roll up your shirtsleeves for the work ahead.
posted by Bora Horza Gobuchul at 9:05 PM on November 4, 2008 [4 favorites]

Quite frankly, if an acceptance speech does not contain the word 'puppy' it's not much of an election speech.

Good going O-Bazza. Australia's looking forward to your work.
posted by Serial Killer Slumber Party at 9:06 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Looks like Sean Tevis lost.
posted by QIbHom at 9:07 PM on November 4, 2008

(continuation of CSPAN transcript of crowds descending on White House)

Anchor: You know Henry, I trying, you know , I'm trying to gauge from the pictures because it is kind of dark, but is this a crowd that is bordering on violent? Or is this a crowd that is in a celebratory mood over the, uh, the decision made by the American people?

Henry: I, uhhhh, I think we're halfway in between. I think that this is a crowd that, just judging from here and I'm a few hundred feet from them, that their exuberance, uh, could overextend...although they've rattled the fences a little bit, there's some screaming going on...

(Crowd sounds like the crowd at a football stadium. A mass of people behind the fence jumping and dancing and waving signs)

Henry:...the waving of the flags. As I say, there's been no confrontation yet with the police directly. (long pause, crowd still screaming) But it's something that just came out of nowhere, and as we stand and look down Pennsylvania Avenue, you can see many hundreds more are streaming towards this. Now, whether this was something that was planned in advance and the authorities didn't know about it, I cannot say...but it does seem unusual that so many people would appear here all at once.

Anchor: Well, we will, uh, keep your camera on this and listen to your reports...

*********

Please, celebratory people in DC. Keep cool.
posted by jeanmari at 9:07 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

gman, careful with the New Day stuff. We all know that right after they start talking about that stuff, Carcetti finds the city is broke, the newspaper starts printing bullshit, and McNulty starts drinking again...

It's November 5th.
posted by gman at 9:08 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

I hope he starts a 'fro
And it grow and grow and grow
posted by lukemeister at 9:08 PM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

Sounds likes someone's organizing a community again...
posted by mazola at 9:09 PM on November 4, 2008 [4 favorites]

I have found her candidacy a bit worrisome. But there's something there, and maybe not just her face, and maybe it's not even that new a thing, but we need to take it seriously.

Yes, maybe she has a future in the party. But the rejection of the McCain ticket was in large part a referendum on her. The party has to reinvent itself now in order to survive, and so does she. We'll see, but to me she looks a lot like the end of the Goldwater Era. Something else will come next as their next wave, IMO. I think they have the potential to rediscover their party in a better way, and a lot of it has to do with the inclusive signals Obama has sent, and it could only help the Dems, too. Well, I think the potential is there, anyway.

Where does Palin fit in to that? If she can help out, there's a place for her, too.
posted by krinklyfig at 9:10 PM on November 4, 2008

I'm on the edge of tears here at work. My god, we did it.

Although I can't help but be a little snarky. I'm reminded of the joke about what'll happen in January when Obama takes the White House keys from Bush and says: "You fucked this country up so bad that a black dude named 'Barack Hussein' is going to live here next.'"
posted by bardic at 9:11 PM on November 4, 2008

Worry time:

At work, an african-american woman was actually distraught tonight. She was convinced that Obama's going to be assassinated, and in short order. I tried to convince her that people were in an assassinating mood they'd have gotten Bush before now, but she was inconsolable, worrying about Michelle and their kids.

Considering some of the hate that came out for the McCain rallies, I can kind of see her worry.
posted by JHarris at 9:11 PM on November 4, 2008

I love this speech. I love that he is actively working to bind up the wounds that the election has caused.
posted by winna at 9:12 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

First man crush EVER.
posted by gman at 9:13 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

YES WE CAN!
posted by ericb at 9:14 PM on November 4, 2008

We are dancing in the streets of Brooklyn.
posted by amery at 9:14 PM on November 4, 2008

So far, Prop 8 is winning, but only about 10% of precincts are reporting in yet.
posted by gingerbeer at 9:14 PM on November 4, 2008

Confirmation that this was an organized flash mob in front of White House.

Favorite line from Henry the newscaster: "Yes, Peter, I took the opportunity to dash over there on a break and I talked to some of the young people. I can tell you that this is a raucous, energetic and wild crowd but it is really safe. But it is a testimony to the kind of NEW AGE THAT THESE YOUNG KIDS LIVE IN. Essentially these are students from nearby universities which surround this area who got on their TEXT MESSAGE MACHINES and said, "Hey, why don't we go down to the White House?" One text messaged another and so on down the line and now we've got a crowd which is nearly filling the square across from the White House...Lafayette Park..and as you look down the street, more and more of them are coming, all of them are holding their MACHINES, THEIR TEXT MESSAGE MACHINES, text messaging more friends to get over here..."

**********

Whenever he says "text messaging machines", I keep picturing undergrads dragging old manual typewriters down the street. Even though the visual and audio of the crowd in the darkness is still pretty alarming, the commentary is AWESOME.
posted by jeanmari at 9:16 PM on November 4, 2008 [14 favorites]

YES. WE. CAN!
posted by michswiss at 9:16 PM on November 4, 2008

That was so amazing I'm seriously freaking the fuck out over here. That was beautiful.
posted by puke & cry at 9:16 PM on November 4, 2008

BIDEN TIME!
posted by mazola at 9:16 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Wow. I can't believe I'm awake and this is actually happening. What a speech! Obama is actually going to be our next President. I want to hug everybody!
posted by DiscourseMarker at 9:17 PM on November 4, 2008

I think I'm going to put a newspaper clipping of this day in my wallet.

In my local community, every initiative that asked for money was defeated, which is surely a sign of the times.
posted by maxwelton at 9:17 PM on November 4, 2008

Aw, Jesse.
posted by penduluum at 9:18 PM on November 4, 2008

breathing snot. burning tears. cry. oh. so. good. ahjj
posted by xorry at 9:19 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Nice work, everyone!
posted by graventy at 9:19 PM on November 4, 2008

Michelle Obama is going to be the best First Lady we've had since Eleanor Roosevelt. That family is just amazing.

This is just so excellent.
posted by krinklyfig at 9:20 PM on November 4, 2008 [8 favorites]

My 102-year-old grandma couldn't vote this election - for the first time; she's too shaky now - and I keep thinking about her tonight. Born in 1906, she'd have voted for Obama, as uncomfortable as she could be socially with black people (I know her voting inclinations; she voted Green when she didn't like a CA Democratic gubernatorial candidate). I hope my local cousins helps her realize that she's lived to see this.
posted by goofyfoot at 9:20 PM on November 4, 2008

From Tokyo: YES WE CAN! AND WE WILL!
posted by gen at 9:20 PM on November 4, 2008

Hey, hey, who the hell are all these people?
posted by penduluum at 9:20 PM on November 4, 2008

YES! YES! YES WE CAN, MOTHERFUCKER!
posted by puke & cry at 9:21 PM on November 4, 2008

That speech was epic. I am so happy I'm going to get on my TEXT MESSAGING MACHINE and tell everyone all about it. (thanks, jeanmarie, that transcript was beyond hilarious)
posted by donnagirl at 9:21 PM on November 4, 2008

That was an ok speech. Seemed his flow was a bit off to me.

I guess Clinton spoiled me. And Jesse Jackson.
posted by QIbHom at 9:21 PM on November 4, 2008

Good night all, and God Bless America! I've NEVER said that and it felt GREAT.
posted by gman at 9:21 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Is that Biden's mom?

I think I just got something in my eye.
posted by emelenjr at 9:22 PM on November 4, 2008

Well, if nothing else, Chicago's going to get the fucking Olympics. and the Cubs will win the pennant please? and candy will fall from the sky.
posted by nax at 9:22 PM on November 4, 2008

I would like to give props to McCain for giving a dignified concession speech. I wish we could have seen more of that from him during the race itself.
posted by cjorgensen at 9:22 PM on November 4, 2008 [4 favorites]

Who vets the presidential puppy?

I hope it's not Dick Cheney. He'll pick himself.
posted by lukemeister at 9:22 PM on November 4, 2008

What a speech. This man is more than a president.
posted by ageispolis at 9:23 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Whenever he says "text messaging machines", I keep picturing undergrads dragging old manual typewriters down the street.

Or rolling stock ticker machines with keyboards. Really elaborate contraptions on wheels ...
posted by krinklyfig at 9:23 PM on November 4, 2008

Aw man, stevis lost :(

I mean, everything else is fucking AWESOME, but I wanted him to win.
posted by sugarfish at 9:23 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Okay, I get it now. The adorable Henry and his anchor on CSPAN are from the CBC. Oh, you Canucks and your text messaging machines...
posted by jeanmari at 9:25 PM on November 4, 2008

Sleep, sleep tonight. And may your dreams be realized.
posted by A dead Quaker at 9:25 PM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

That was an amazing speech, QIbHom. I don't know what you're smoking.
posted by puke & cry at 9:25 PM on November 4, 2008

Everyone should get a puppy at the end of this campaign. The End.
posted by jeanmari at 9:26 PM on November 4, 2008 [5 favorites]

I love Biden's expressions -- he is going to be one of the best Vice-Presidents ever.
posted by Kikkoman at 9:26 PM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

Every state that I have ever lived in (PA, IA, OH, NM, and FL) has gone Obama in this election.

You can thank me for this election, motherfuckers.
posted by dirigibleman at 9:26 PM on November 4, 2008 [7 favorites]

They're huge Obama fans, but they're bigger fans of sleep.

As a pro-sleep pro-Obama American, I can definitely say that this was worth staying up for, and I am so grateful it didn't go into the night. (My first presidential election was the utter disaster of 2000 - I remember quitting at 3AM leaving my hallmates with the request to wake me when there was a president. Imagine my shock to wake up the next day to... what? exactly?)

I'm going to go to sleep now and dream of that wonderful first family and their new puppy. PUPPIES!!!!
posted by grapefruitmoon at 9:27 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

98% reporting, Indiana still light blue! C'mon Hoosiers!
posted by paisley henosis at 9:27 PM on November 4, 2008

OK, landslide, right? Officially?
posted by krinklyfig at 9:28 PM on November 4, 2008

New thread time!
posted by amuseDetachment at 9:29 PM on November 4, 2008

I agree with QIbHom about the speech, but I figured he was just exhausted.

Time for some sleep myself, I think.
posted by jinjo at 9:29 PM on November 4, 2008

And when do we vote on the name of the puppy-elect??

(FUCK YEAH, America! I am weeping outright here ever since our next president started speaking.)
posted by melixxa600 at 9:29 PM on November 4, 2008

That was amazing. Congratulations, America, from this Canadian.
posted by tickingclock at 9:29 PM on November 4, 2008

The speech was good, but the atmosphere on top of it... Nice warm day in Chicago in October (a miracle in itself). Gentle breeze stately swaying the American flags. A multitude facing the same direction with the same vision.
“I hear your voices too”

Wow.
posted by Smedleyman at 9:29 PM on November 4, 2008

LOOK AT THIS MOTHERFUCKING PRESIDENT
posted by kosher_jenny at 9:29 PM on November 4, 2008 [13 favorites]

I'm so happy. It's close to 5:30 AM here in England and it was so worth staying up for. I'm looking forward to returning to America so I can be part of building the positive change Obama is going to lead.
posted by like_neon at 9:30 PM on November 4, 2008

Biden's mom. All the kids. The people in the audience crying. Me watching TV and crying.

YES WE CAN.

YES WE DID.
posted by cmyk at 9:30 PM on November 4, 2008

Rachel Maddow just mentioned Obama's oratory and I about shit my pants with joy at the idea that we can talk about our President-elect in terms of oratory for once.
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 9:30 PM on November 4, 2008 [10 favorites]

44
posted by JakeEXTREME at 9:32 PM on November 4, 2008

~ As a pro-sleep pro-Obama American, I can definitely say that this was worth staying up for, and I am so grateful it didn't go into the night. (My first presidential election was the utter disaster of 2000

My first sleep-vs-caring presidential election was Billy Clint in '96. My mom woke me up around 2 a.m. to tell me "he won!"

12 years later, I called her, to let her know the same thing.
posted by paisley henosis at 9:33 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

LOOK AT THIS MOTHERFUCKING PRESIDENT
oh, how I laughed.
I'm saving my tears for his swearing-in.
posted by Monsters at 9:35 PM on November 4, 2008

Oh god. You know, you see things on TV and they always have that air on unreality to them. Mediated. But when "the next first family of the United States" came on, I fucking LOST IT. Total, bawling, choked up 25 year old dude.

And now the city is screaming with cheers of celebration, horns honking, screams from rooftops, and I can't hold my shit together at all.

Oh god, oh America. I missed you. You're so fucking beautiful sometimes.
posted by The Whelk at 9:36 PM on November 4, 2008 [7 favorites]

He must have also been inspired by the box of puppies!

What a great speech. I love how inclusive it was and how he downplayed his own achievements and historic victory and instead made it about us and our future.
I like how even with such a decisive win he still made sure to tell McCain's supporters that he would listen to them and lead them too.

What a classy guy. I am proud to have him as my president!

I think I have something in my eye...
posted by rmless at 9:37 PM on November 4, 2008

Wow! I cried a lot less than I expected to!
posted by maryh at 9:37 PM on November 4, 2008

I am glad I was able to see this. I actually feel optimistic for America.. I haven't felt that way for a long, long time.
posted by tksh at 9:38 PM on November 4, 2008

Hahaha, that Biden/Obama manhug was possibly the greatest thing ever.

It's going to be an interesting four years. Best of luck to your country! Looks like you picked the better captain for the storm.
posted by Schlimmbesserung at 9:38 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

IT ACTUALLY HAPPENED. NO ONE TOOK THE FOOTBAL AWAY AT THE LAST SECOND. WE KICKED IT OVER THE FUCKING FENCE>

I can't parse it. I just can't. My mind is jello.
posted by The Whelk at 9:38 PM on November 4, 2008 [6 favorites]

I have not cried as much since my mother died. A different kind of tear this time.
posted by Dick Paris at 9:40 PM on November 4, 2008

Excellent acceptance speech. Could have done without the opening prayer. I get to snark about someone I helped elect....How wonderful is that?
posted by Shutter at 9:40 PM on November 4, 2008

It is the first time in my adult life that I can say I am proud to be an American.
posted by solipsophistocracy at 9:41 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

jeanmari: Everyone should get a puppy at the end of this campaign. The End.

I agree. A car in every garage, and a puppy in every pot. (warning, stupid self link.)
posted by cjorgensen at 9:42 PM on November 4, 2008

Dear S. Palin, that community organizer just beat you in a near landslide.
posted by drezdn at 9:42 PM on November 4, 2008 [13 favorites]

Amidst all this general & widespread euphoria, I sincerely hope that we don't get so carried away that we lose sight of one of the most valuable & promising things gained on this glorious & historical occasion, something that will sustain us & provide us with hope well into the future, after we come down from this high & put our noses back to the grindstone of our regular, everyday lives. I am referring, of course, to the birth of the text messaging machine meme.
posted by UbuRoivas at 9:43 PM on November 4, 2008 [6 favorites]

Scoober diaper monogram. Paint iggely montana ziggurat pointilism umlaut figaro. Zamboni eggwalk igloo superego googolplex.
posted by fungible at 9:44 PM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

Well, it seems like it's puppies for everyone these days as Biden's wife says he can now get one.
posted by Maishe at 9:44 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Oh man. This was brilliant. I shed tears. I could not votein your election, but I was there. I saw.

I was a witness.

Congratulations, "It's been a long time coming..."
posted by aclevername at 9:44 PM on November 4, 2008

The thing you need to remember, JHarris is, well, how many assassins have you met? I'm pretty much guessing that for most of us, the only time we interact with an assassin is when we have a tub of overpriced, greasy popcorn in our laps. As such, we expect Ricardo Montalban, equipped with a super accurate weapon that looks innocent enough and is all but invisible to X-rays (or whatever Q has for us this time).

As we have already seen it's usually someone who is almost exactly not like that. I'm kinda thinking that anyone planning on assassinating Obama is going to be, at best, an angrier version of the guy who offered to beat me up during one of Reagan's election bids to prove to me that the Russians really had an air craft carrier. He probably won't know what Jane's is either.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 9:47 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

solipsophistocracy: It is the first time in my adult life that I can say I am proud to be an American.

That's just sad.

I am hyper-critical of both parties, I did my 6 years in the Guard (and hated it), have hated the hate politics of the last 8 years, have hated the deterioration of civil liberties under both the Bush and Clinton administrations, but I thank a god I don't believe in that I live in a country that I have been able to express my beliefs and am proud I've served it (even if I hated the service).

I've always been proud to be an American. I honestly believe it's the best country in the world. If I knew of a better one I'd be living there.

Not saying love it or leave it, just saying it's sad it's taken you so long to love it.
posted by cjorgensen at 9:52 PM on November 4, 2008

I guess we did it... Y'know, that thing that we could have done. We done did it. Even if Texas didn't. Here's to a brighter future and bedtime!
posted by ktrey at 9:57 PM on November 4, 2008

I can't wait for all the awesome speechifying that we're going to get for the next eight years. This is a great day.
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 9:57 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

You know what's fun to do? Go on the NYT word thing, and read the McCain supporter words, coming across all red and negative and stuff, and then click on the Obama supporter words, which are blue and positive and hopeful, and watch as they wash away the red ones.

And: wtf is up with "sassy"? Which online community is pushing that one?
posted by brain cloud at 9:57 PM on November 4, 2008

Hey! My baby said to me
I feel so Devo
I don't know what to do

Hey! It's ok because she's free
How low can you go?
That’s really up to you

Now, watch us work it
Work it out
Watch us work it
Work it inside out
Now, watch us work it
Work it out
Watch us work it
Work it inside out
Now, watch us work it
Work it out
Watch us work it
Work it inside out
Now, watch us work it
Work it out
Watch us work it
Work it inside out

Baby we can work it out
Let's put it back together


Watch Us Work It
posted by The Whelk at 9:57 PM on November 4, 2008

Er...November. (Thinking ‘autumn’ and uh...oh, right, like you know what month it is what with all the Romans renaming them all the time)
posted by Smedleyman at 9:58 PM on November 4, 2008

Sorry, I am filled with a larger number of powerful emotions.
posted by The Whelk at 9:59 PM on November 4, 2008

Damn, my New Zealand property speculation is worthless now.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 10:00 PM on November 4, 2008

SO PROUD!
posted by TungstenChef at 10:01 PM on November 4, 2008

Ayers speaks!

In fact, Ayers said that he knew Obama only slightly: “I think my relationship with Obama was probably like that of thousands of others in Chicago and, like millions and millions of others, I wished I knew him better.”
...
Ayers said that he had never meant to imply, in an interview with the Times, published coincidentally on 9/11, that he somehow wished he and the Weathermen had committed further acts of violence in the old days. Instead, he said, “I wish I had done more, but it doesn’t mean I wish we’d bombed more shit.”

posted by delmoi at 10:01 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Like a bit of a dork, I cried a little this morning when I cast my ballot - everything just had this hyper-real sense of importance. I'm crying a little again now. Same reason.
posted by ersatzkat at 10:02 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States of America.

Awesome.
posted by effwerd at 10:03 PM on November 4, 2008

To all the Mefites who were on the ground and on the phone, canvassing and organizing and campaigning for Obama: thank you.
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 10:05 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

righto, it's beer o'clock down under so i'm off. i'll be sure to have one for you americans*

* due to exchange rates or something, this amounts to approximately 24 US beers.
posted by UbuRoivas at 10:06 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Okay, are they going to have enough room on Inauguration Day?
posted by effwerd at 10:07 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Wow, with 56% of the vote in, McCain leads Montana by nine hundred votes. Obama is up in Indiana, and we don't know who will win the MN senate race.
posted by delmoi at 10:08 PM on November 4, 2008

OK, I started reading this thread 24 hours ago. I may have slept a little in there, but it's been one hell of a ride. Thank you MeFi, thank you America, thank you President-Elect Barack Hussein Obama.
posted by donnagirl at 10:10 PM on November 4, 2008

I spent twelve hours trudging through the rain and dealing with difficult volunteers who think they know better than David Axelrod how a campaign should be run today. It was totally worth it. I'm going to have a president I can be proud of.
posted by EarBucket at 10:10 PM on November 4, 2008

mismatched: I voted for the first time, and in Ohio where it matters!

It matters wherever you voted, whomever you voted for. Today proves this.
posted by cjorgensen at 10:10 PM on November 4, 2008

We took the day off (husband voted early and I would have if I were a citizen), phone banked in the afternoon, got a bite to eat, came back to local Dem HQ for the results around 1930. Smiles and incredulous joy all around, "Holy shit, we did it!" Tears listening to Obama's acceptance speech. Finally a president who respects science, women's health, diversity, aboriginal people, the idea of hiring qualified people, critical thinking generally, my God the list goes on and on.

Thank you Mefites for all the stories and links, and especially for the encouragement to get involved in the campaign, without which the two of us (a couple of lifelong nerdy introverts) would never have worked up the nerve to participate. (Today, calling Ohio, I had just launched into my spiel when the phonee announced, "This is the McCain rally headquarters!" "Sorry to bother you, thanks for your time!" I blurted before hastily hanging up.) What an uplifting experience.
posted by cybercoitus interruptus at 10:11 PM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

I was here.

I laughed, I cried. Human stuff.
I'm proud.

And I can't fucking wait to get a puppy.
posted by terpia at 10:13 PM on November 4, 2008

To all the Mefites who were on the ground

I think a lot of Mefites are on the ground right now rolling around and laughing with joy :-)

In Colorado, we were practically tripping over Obama volunteers today.
posted by lukemeister at 10:18 PM on November 4, 2008

We were dancing in the streets of West Orange, NJ with champagne right after CNN called it for Obama. Some of the neighbors came out to join us. It was awesome.

I am overwhelmed.
posted by MsVader at 10:19 PM on November 4, 2008

Does anyone have updated news about Proposition 8? Or a good news source for it? Thanks!

I feel terrible - I misheard someone and thought that they said the Proposition 8 had passed, then my sister called me from the joyous streets of San Francisco, and I told her it had passed - I totally damped her Obama buzz :( Now I feel like I've jinxed the whole thing or something.

I NEED NEWS COVERAGE PEOPLE!!!
posted by Salvor Hardin at 10:23 PM on November 4, 2008

Thank you America. That was kickass.

That's the country I remember that you were supposed to be. Good to see you back.
posted by jokeefe at 10:29 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

Salvor, go here to the LA Times map and adjust the dropdowns for Prop 8.

Man, I hope we can pull it off. I am no fan of legislating theology.
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 10:29 PM on November 4, 2008

Salvor Hardin - results on CA propositions available here. Loads much faster than the SoS site, but may be a bit behind. Prop 8 is still ahead.
posted by one_bean at 10:34 PM on November 4, 2008

I did not expect to cry. I wasn't really an Obama partisan (I was originally for Edwards), and the last 8 years have been draining of all hope. (Like I told my bff on the phone tonite, after 2000, and then the war, I've been sort of afraid to hope.) But that speech...so calm, serious, thoughtful. I cried several times while standing in my kitchen, listening to the radio. It was a release of all the fear and anxiety and dread that I've been carrying around in my heart.

Sappy, true, but right now I'm ok with that.

why I thought I wouldn't cry, I don't know. I've always been ultra-easy to cry.
posted by epersonae at 10:37 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

LA Times returns for Prop 8. It's a little better than the coverage here.
posted by gingerbeer at 10:40 PM on November 4, 2008

Prop 8 was up in the polling, but it was too close to call a while ago.

McCain won Alaska. Bachman won reelection in MN. Apparently her district was heavily gerrymandered by the democrats to create a republican "ghetto" in order to carve out some safe democratic seats. It shouldn't be that surprising.
posted by delmoi at 10:42 PM on November 4, 2008

Thanks fairytale!!! That's exactly what I wanted. Unfortunately the data it shows is kind of depressing :( On the plus side, if it passes, my sister won't be mad at me for depressing her for no reason. There's still hope though.
posted by Salvor Hardin at 10:43 PM on November 4, 2008

And Obama takes North Carolina. God, that's sweet.
posted by EarBucket at 10:44 PM on November 4, 2008

Jesus. North Carolina might actually go for a black man for president.

The energy at the Democratic Party party in Raleigh tonight was electric. I'm waiting to be disappointed, but for now I sure do love my new president.
posted by mediareport at 10:45 PM on November 4, 2008

America, fuck yeah!
posted by furtive at 10:46 PM on November 4, 2008

HOLY SHIT:

President
North Carolina
Obama 2,101,986 50%
McCain 2,089,826 49%

100% precincts reporting

HOLY FUCKING SHIT.
posted by mediareport at 10:52 PM on November 4, 2008 [9 favorites]

Oakland CA is celebrating feverishly, much cheering in the streets and cars honking.
posted by telstar at 10:53 PM on November 4, 2008

If somebody can MeMail me a corgi rescue site on the east coast/midwest, I will follow our President-elect, and grab up a new puppy.
posted by paisley henosis at 10:55 PM on November 4, 2008

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
posted by The Whelk at 11:00 PM on November 4, 2008

Oh man, it's light outside already and I'm still too wired to sleep! GOBAMA!
posted by the latin mouse at 11:01 PM on November 4, 2008

CNN has Missouri voting McCain by around 600 votes. Amazing.
posted by boo_radley at 11:06 PM on November 4, 2008

If the NC numbers hold up, oh my fucking god.

If President Obama manages to snatch MT up, just for the hell of it, OH MY FUCKING GOD.

Two more hours at work, then I'm off to become a proud, drunken, but polite miguk-in (American) in the neon-lit streets of Seoul. I think I've earned it.

As already mentioned, to those who canvassed and made phone-calls: thank you. The Obama campaign will be remembered as the ultimate election playbook for at least the next fifty years, but it was the sweat of its volunteers that made this whole thing work.
posted by bardic at 11:14 PM on November 4, 2008

“Sappy, true, but right now I'm ok with that.”

Sappy? Hell, I’m already nostalgic.

You guys remember when Obama was elected and he gave that great speech in Grant Park? Man, that was great.
posted by Smedleyman at 11:17 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

Indiana called for Obama with 99% of precincts reporting.

Bob Barr votes, Indiana: 28,000 (tentative Obama victory margin 23,000)
Bob Barr votes, North Carolina: 25,000 (tentative Obama victory margin 12,000)

Knew that guy was good for something.
posted by ormondsacker at 11:19 PM on November 4, 2008 [3 favorites]

I got back a while ago from a results party here in Paris that ran from midnight to 6am. It's 8am and I'm going to take a nap and then go to work. Oh my flyingspaghettimonster, how fucking amazing was that.

THERE.IS.A.BROTHER.IN.THE.WHITE.HOUSE!!!!!!!1!one!¡¡!

Also, as soon as I have some time to stay still for a few moments, I'm going to crack open a bottle of champagne and guzzle it like there's no tomorrow.
posted by LMGM at 11:20 PM on November 4, 2008 [1 favorite]

When I think of America-related historical events of great importance I've lived through, it's pretty bleak (I was born in 1974):

9/11
Two space shuttle disasters
Katrina
Reagan getting shot
Iraq I and II

I guess the Wall coming down in '89 is a genuinely positive world historical event that I'm grateful for.

But man, I need to find me a wife and have kids and grandkids now, because when I'm old and gray I want to tell them about how my country came back to its senses in early November 2008, and even in a far away place like Korea people were happy for me and my country.

Of course, now the real work starts.
posted by bardic at 11:22 PM on November 4, 2008 [2 favorites]

This is a 5th of November that I WILL remember, remember.

Thanks for a fabulous evening, worldfull of Mefites! I love seeing everyone check in from all over.

Another proud American, signing off.
posted by CitizenD at 11:42 PM on November 4, 2008

Palin as President is now the yes we can speech.

Besides 538 this has been my daily stop for the last 3 weeks.

Hope he returns it to yesterday's version so I can get the last few jokes.

Wonderful site.
posted by cjorgensen at 11:47 PM on November 4, 2008 [5 favorites]

Dropping in to join in the celebration. Wonderful night!
posted by mtstover at 11:49 PM on November 4, 2008

Posting in epic historic thread.
posted by mullingitover at 11:55 PM on November 4, 2008

Obama wins Nebraska's 2nd District. Jesus what a night.
posted by Pantengliopoli at 11:58 PM on November 4, 2008

Politicsfilter?
posted by minkll at 12:02 AM on November 5, 2008

(As an aside, we're celebrating Guy Fawkes in New Zealand, so there's big fireworks displays outside right now)
posted by rodgerd at 12:17 AM on November 5, 2008

fivethirtyeight just uncalled Nebraska's 2nd District.
posted by breath at 12:18 AM on November 5, 2008

Happy Obama Day Everybody!
posted by ooga_booga at 12:22 AM on November 5, 2008

And McCain has an incredibly narrow lead in Missouri with only rural Republican counties left, and Montana has slipped away. So call it - 365 to 173.

Thanks to poll workers and canvassers and long-suffering website administrators and everybody that got us here. Better world tomorrow.
posted by ormondsacker at 12:25 AM on November 5, 2008

Good morning from europe.

Well done, I am proud of you all! :)
posted by anni at 12:35 AM on November 5, 2008

In 62 years of life I've never had a day like this. Thank you all for helping to make it so extraordinary and memorable.
posted by X4ster at 12:41 AM on November 5, 2008 [4 favorites]

Sadly, Florida's Amendment 2 passed, which means gay and even non-gay domestic partners have even fewer rights than they did a day ago. In addition, Amendment 1 failed, which means openly racist laws preventing foreigners from owning land can still be passed. Florida is one of, like, two states that still has this anachronism from the early 20th century (originally designed to prevent Asian immigrants from owning farmland).

So, yay Obama, but boo open bigotry and hatred in every other respect.
posted by dirigibleman at 12:45 AM on November 5, 2008

Congratulations USA!
posted by h00py at 12:45 AM on November 5, 2008

Thank you USA. And welcome back.
posted by Augenblick at 12:49 AM on November 5, 2008 [1 favorite]

Yes, it was a wonderful acceptance speech. But if Obama lets the organization he's developed over the past months fall into disuse things are not going to change. Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom, and I worry that too many people will think "I've voted; I've done my part," and not realize that you've gotta watch the bastards every minute. Hopefully, those that were inspired by the campaign will continue to be vigilant.

His cabinet will tell much of the tale; at least the next supreme court appointments are his. I would think Kennedy at least is breathing a little easier tonight.
posted by theroadahead at 12:53 AM on November 5, 2008

And for some reason, McCain's speech seemed to me to be placing Obama's victory squarely in the court of his 'race.' Sort of "He won because he's black.' Maybe I'm too cynical, but I read his talk of Booker T. Washington and the like to be just more race baiting when placed in the context of his nominal supporters.

And who couldn't notice that the hatred toward Obama at the McCain rally was palpable?

GL Barry.
posted by theroadahead at 1:17 AM on November 5, 2008 [1 favorite]

...the last 8 years have been draining of all hope. (Like I told my bff on the phone tonite, after 2000, and then the war, I've been sort of afraid to hope.) But that speech...so calm, serious, thoughtful. I cried several times while standing in my kitchen, listening to the radio. It was a release of all the fear and anxiety and dread that I've been carrying around in my heart.

Afraid to hope. Yes. My feelings exactly. As I posted in another thread:

On my way home from class, I heard people screaming and whooping it up. I still didn't know Obama had won, so I had a brief moment of hope, then quickly quashed it: "Could it be...? Nah, I'd better not get my hopes up; I'm not sure I could handle having them dashed again."

When you've been carrying around a heavy load of fear, anxiety and dread for so long, releasing it is incredibly cathartic!
posted by velvet winter at 1:31 AM on November 5, 2008

Good on you!1!!
posted by =^^= at 1:39 AM on November 5, 2008

Thanks for the reassurance Kid Charlemagne.

We're over 2,000 comments. The Palin thread's way over 5k though. I don't think mere enthusiasm will be a match for snark as far as thread staying power goes....
posted by JHarris at 1:44 AM on November 5, 2008

I claim the 2008th comment in the name of the Obama family's new puppy dog. May he enjoy many happy years on the White House lawn.
posted by shii at 1:46 AM on November 5, 2008

2009 for an epic first year!!!
posted by nvly at 1:56 AM on November 5, 2008

Well, I don't know about any of you folks, but for some reason it just smells nicer outside this morning. /East Coaster
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 2:03 AM on November 5, 2008

May I be the last to thank you for your participation and wish everyone a good night.
posted by sfts2 at 2:36 AM on November 5, 2008

A last minute placeholder from this Aussie with 3 stakes in the game, an American wife and 2 kids:

thank you America, and well done.
posted by 5MeoCMP at 2:53 AM on November 5, 2008

Someone tell me I wasn't just fuckin' dreaming. Well, I mean I was dreaming, but?
posted by gman at 3:50 AM on November 5, 2008

Wow. Anyone else living overseas suddenly feel like it's okay to move back home now? I honestly didn't think it was going to work, and now, I'm so fucking relieved, I can't even function. Seriously. The last 8 years, moving home didn't even seem like an option. It's like a whole new world has opened up for me, and maybe, someday, I can actually call my home "home" again.

No, not really. No offence, America. I am extremely gratified right now, but I wouldn't consider living in the states again until there is some sort of proper health care scheme for EVERYONE living there, even immigrants. I hope, and will do all I can, to help President Obama realise this goal... but if has campaign has proven anything, it's that the internet can be a force for good (no matter where you sit whilst you use it).

I do feel up to a visit, now, though.
posted by chuckdarwin at 4:19 AM on November 5, 2008 [2 favorites]

Congratulations USA! Good on you!
posted by LN at 5:12 AM on November 5, 2008

Geez, I wake up this morning and Al Fraken is down by 768 votes with "99%" reporting. Wow.
posted by delmoi at 5:30 AM on November 5, 2008

Wow, my home state (NC) has done me proud, my country has done me proud, and my NEW PRESIDENT has done me proud! It's a good day to be alive.
posted by mightshould at 5:49 AM on November 5, 2008

Unless you're gay.
posted by mediareport at 6:05 AM on November 5, 2008

The fight for gay rights is not over. It's a stupid thing to have to fight for, but having to fight for equal rights is where we're at. Look how long it took for former slaves to gain the right to vote. Keep fighting and take the hand of all of us willing to fight the fight with you.
posted by mightshould at 6:12 AM on November 5, 2008 [1 favorite]

In 10 years, no one will care about gay marriage because it will be normal.
posted by QIbHom at 6:34 AM on November 5, 2008

Peace.
posted by bardic at 7:09 AM on November 5, 2008

Dear Obama Organizers,

So, what are you going to do now? The (figurative) war ain't over yet! Let's take back control on so many other levels! Create change at home! Don't lose your energy, keep fighting!

Sincerely,
Your friends, the Anarchists.
posted by symbollocks at 7:15 AM on November 5, 2008 [3 favorites]

the revolution was televised
posted by hexxed at 7:18 AM on November 5, 2008 [6 favorites]

The husband of one of my coworkers just called her in a panic, saying he just heard on the radio that Obama announced he would enact slavery reparations and form a national police force. Nothing either of us said to him could convince him otherwise.

So, yeah. There's still that.
posted by contessa at 7:38 AM on November 5, 2008 [1 favorite]

That was like watching one last West Wing episode, without the long takes.
posted by Pantengliopoli at 7:38 AM on November 5, 2008 [3 favorites]

Unless you're gay.

Or have gay family and friends. Or value equal rights for gay people. Or think affirmative action is a good thing. Or value reproductive choice for women. Or want kids in Arkansas to get adopted by any qualified person regardless of marriage status-- now gay and straight unmarried couples cannot adopt in Arkansas.

The as of yet unemphasized story here is that we kicked ass at the national level while some state-level ballot initiatives passed that are troubling. It's a mixed bag overall-- similar measures passed in some states and not others.

One good sign-- the vote breakdown on these looks pretty generational. It seems the clock is running down on some of these issues. Same with Obama-- it was the younger voters who strongly supported him.
posted by Tehanu at 7:39 AM on November 5, 2008

symbollocks: Sincerely, Your friends, the Anarchists.

Aw, you guys are adorable. Seriously, though, I'm in kind of a rush, so can you just make me that latte I ordered?
posted by mkultra at 7:42 AM on November 5, 2008 [11 favorites]

What a great thread - I missed being here because I hosted a little neighborhood party but as I read the thread - not done yet - I am sorry I was not here with my true political peeps! I had a good time with neighbors, we screamed, yelled, cried and laughed... but I really missed being here with y'all, we've all been through so much together!

I am still verklempt, having swung from laughter to tears dozens of times in the last 48 hours. I am only now realizing how little I have dared to hope or give full vent to my idealism in all the years since I watched Bobby Kennedy gunned down on TV as a young kid. The dam really broke last night.

I wish my Mom had lived to see this. She had two things she often said she wanted to see before she died: a Red Sox win (check) and Bush's posterior going out the door with a good Democrat replacing him. She'd have loved this.
posted by madamjujujive at 7:52 AM on November 5, 2008 [3 favorites]

Ctrl+S Who needs newspapers?
posted by Skorgu at 8:16 AM on November 5, 2008 [1 favorite]

I vote to abolish all governments worldwide and appoint Obama King of the Planet.
posted by gman at 8:19 AM on November 5, 2008 [1 favorite]

Sadly, Florida's Amendment 2 passed, which means gay and even non-gay domestic partners have even fewer rights than they did a day ago. In addition, Amendment 1 failed, which means openly racist laws preventing foreigners from owning land can still be passed. Florida is one of, like, two states that still has this anachronism from the early 20th century (originally designed to prevent Asian immigrants from owning farmland).

Very sad. But sadder still is the way the question was phrased. All of the amendments were phrased in ways that were extremely confusing, even for an over-educated person like myself. But Amendment 2 had a special notice that passage would mean no increase in taxes. It's difficult to say whether this was due to ill-will on the part of the voters, or a gross and inordinate amount of confusion.

In telling people about my experience voting, many answered that amendments are always like this, but in my previous voting experiences, in New Jersey, I was always able to figure out what I was voting for. In this case, it was very, very difficult.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 8:23 AM on November 5, 2008 [1 favorite]

new Obama song
posted by madamjujujive at 8:35 AM on November 5, 2008

How I feel today.
posted by Tehanu at 8:35 AM on November 5, 2008 [4 favorites]

Okay still very happy and excited, but now I remember why I shouldn't drink champagne. Ouch my head.
posted by Big_B at 9:11 AM on November 5, 2008 [1 favorite]

AP Uncalls Minnesota Senate Race
posted by homunculus at 9:16 AM on November 5, 2008

I want Obama to win; I want Prop 8 to lose; I want my Prop 5, into which my coworkers have been pouring their hearts, to win; I want the Dems to take 60 seats in the Senate, including Jim Martin in GA; I want Charlie Brown to take CA-04; and I want to see my home state of Virginia go blue.


Yes; no (not yet and not looking good); no; not yet, but it is still possible, and GA may go to a runoff; not called yet, down by 449 votes; YES!
posted by gingerbeer at 9:18 AM on November 5, 2008

Any truth to the rumor that between now and January 20 Cheney has to be Biden's butler?
posted by Sailormom at 10:02 AM on November 5, 2008 [3 favorites]

Civil_Disobedient called the whole thing for Obama back in '05

How in the heck did you even find that comment!?
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 10:49 AM on November 5, 2008

If Indiana goes to Obama I shall have a beer from the Upland Brewing Company in Bloomington, one of the bluest spots in this traditionally red state.

I went to bed last night before I could fulfill this promise to myself, but I'm sure as hell having one (or more) tonight. I've never been more proud to be a Hoosier.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 10:56 AM on November 5, 2008

I vote to abolish all governments worldwide and appoint Obama King of the Planet.

And that's exactly why American voters have no jurisdiction in the electorates of over 6 Billion people of Earth.
posted by UbuRoivas at 11:51 AM on November 5, 2008

Civil_Disobedient called the whole thing for Obama back in '05

How in the heck did you even find that comment!?

I know, and I can't believe that comment didn't even get deleted because it sure as heck doesn't answer the original question! jk, awesome call C_D
posted by Pollomacho at 1:25 PM on November 5, 2008 [1 favorite]

NYTimes county-by-county map shows King County, TX as having voted 93.2% for McCain.

That has got to be the record for the country.
posted by paisley henosis at 1:51 PM on November 5, 2008

Link here. Several other TX counties went up to 92%, too.
posted by paisley henosis at 1:56 PM on November 5, 2008

~ I went to bed last night before I could fulfill this promise to myself, but I'm sure as hell having one (or more) tonight. I've never been more proud to be a Hoosier.

It is really interesting, when you go in and look at it; even the "red" counties, most of them aren't overwhelmingly pro-McCain. Some of them get up to around 65%, which is a solid victory, but none of them have the 75-90+% that you see in some other states, which made me very proud of my Hoosiers.
posted by paisley henosis at 2:23 PM on November 5, 2008

All I can say is yaaayyy. :)
posted by clockworkjoe at 2:24 PM on November 5, 2008

Woops, that's three-in-a-row. Sorry, this morning's hangover turning into this evening's stat fetishism, apparently.
posted by paisley henosis at 2:25 PM on November 5, 2008

Update:

Drunkeness occurred.
Cats were indeed poked with little American flags, and were annoyed.
I also punched a Joe the Plumber pinata in the dick with sufficient force to send it flying across the room, yelling SHUT UP AND FIX A GODDAMN TOILET!





Geez, I wake up this morning and Al Fraken is down by 768 votes with "99%" reporting. Wow.

I guess it's a difference of less than 500 votes now. There will be a recount.

And a runoff to get rid of that Saxby Chambliss asshole, please.

Alas, we get to endure more of Michelle Bachman's batshitinsanity. Look into her eyes - I'm pretty sure they're not attached to anything.
posted by louche mustachio at 2:33 PM on November 5, 2008 [3 favorites]

I called my Grandma back in Indiana this morning and we shared a celebratory "WOOOOO! WE DID IT!" And seriously, full credit to her: She was a big Hilary supporter, but when Obama got the nomination, Grandma worked what little influence she had in our tiny town to get him elected. "You know what part of his speech I liked?" she said. "He said, 'Even if you didn't vote for me, I'm still going to be to your President.' ISN'T THAT PRECIOUS? IT WAS PRECIOUS."
posted by web-goddess at 2:55 PM on November 5, 2008 [1 favorite]

Civil_Disobedient writes "How in the heck did you even find that comment!"

It was my askme; I wanted to see how everyone did.
posted by Mitheral at 3:05 PM on November 5, 2008

They weren't even fuckin' holograms???!?
posted by gman at 3:11 PM on November 5, 2008

Man, I knew it wasn't really The Future.
posted by paisley henosis at 4:54 PM on November 5, 2008 [1 favorite]

Inauguration Day meetup? See MeTa.
posted by brain cloud at 5:02 PM on November 5, 2008

ARGH THE TENSION IS KILLING ME OH PLEASE GOD LANDSLIDE FOR OBAMA NO MONKEY BUSINESS NO RECOUNT NO FRAUD NO BLOODY SUPREME COURT OH PLEASE JUST A DECISIVE MOUNTAIN OF VOTES FOR OBAMA

Wow. This prayer thing works pretty good. Thank you for the early birthday present.

God? You still here? If you can manage it and find the time, I would also really like world peace. Do you think you could you repeal Proposition 8 in California and similar bigoted laws before my friends marriages are voided? You know my heart is pure and light.

And just for me - I could really use a laptop. You know what I'm talking about. I want a newer MacBook or ThinkPad. Something industrial strength that'll last me for a few years while helping others with their computer issues and helping me make more art and music.

Anyway, count me as counting my many blessings. Love you long time. Say hello to Theodore Sturgeon and Kurt Vonnegut for me.
posted by loquacious at 10:56 PM on November 5, 2008 [2 favorites]

I realize this is way, way down the thread from Sotonohito's complaints about the voter check-in involving little old ladies and sacred three ring binders, but on the news this morning, I was informed of a perfectly good reason for why that system works better than at least one alternative.

When nearly 600 Williamson County [Texas] voters checked in Tuesday morning, new computer software assigned them the wrong ballot. So, let's say you live in Round Rock, the computer would give you a ballot meant for Georgetown voters.

“If they're within city limits or not within city limits or if they're within a school district or not within a school district, those would be the differences between the ballot styles, so those are the races that could be affected."

In Williamson County, 600 votes isn't that large of a percentage, but in Potter County, where sotonohito votes, that would be 2% of all votes cast in that county, which seems like a significant problem, and in a tight race it can make a difference. I'm betting the guy running against Franken wishes he had 600 more votes right now, for example.
posted by Orb at 4:57 AM on November 6, 2008

I know it's all schadenfreude, and being a sore winner, but I cannot help but be amused by this YT snippet from Fox News (of all places):

Sarah Palin didn't know which countries were in NAFTA, nor did she realize that Africa was not a single nation.

Now that the campaign is over, all those "off-the-record" comments and whispers of fighting within the McCain staff are finally surfacing, and of course, Sarah Palin is one of the stars of those stories. I can laugh and mock now, of course, but hearing about just how breathtakingly unaware she is still gives me the shivers. We really dodged a bullet there, y'all, even more so than most of us realize.
posted by shiu mai baby at 5:06 AM on November 6, 2008

Of course, in writing the above I did not realize, of course, how much I need to edit my usage of of course. Of course. Gah.
posted by shiu mai baby at 5:09 AM on November 6, 2008

I mentioned my 102-year-old grandma June upthread. It turns out she DID vote this election, according to a cousin. She voted for Obama. My cousin thinks she also voted against Prop 8 (we're Californians).

It's just one vote, but if there's a score being kept of centenarian votes somewhere by someone, please chalk up this one.
posted by goofyfoot at 6:56 PM on November 6, 2008 [1 favorite]

Is it just me, or does George W. seem like kind of an OK guy now? It's either because I'm seeing him through the lens of knowing he'll be gone in 10 weeks, or because he knows he'll be gone in 10 weeks.

Naturally I still hold him accountable for all the horrifying shit he's done to the US and to the world during his 2 terms, yet I'm suddenly feeling inclined to be very kind to him for the remainder of his administration. (Barring any fuckups on his part which are totally likely to happen between now and 1/20/09, which no doubt are guaranteed to include some jaw-dropping pardons.)
posted by brain cloud at 7:13 PM on November 6, 2008

Yeah, I had the exact same feeling watching him give that speech today. But don't fall for it! Any moment now he'll rip his face off and the conservative velociraptor alien will be revealed!
posted by XMLicious at 7:18 PM on November 6, 2008

Is it just me, or does George W. seem like kind of an OK guy now? It's either because I'm seeing him through the lens of knowing he'll be gone in 10 weeks, or because he knows he'll be gone in 10 weeks.

I've been watching the Frontline Bush's War and Cheney's Law docos today, just, you know, to keep the edge on the ol' anger. So, no. Not so much, me. I still very much think it is fitting and necessary that we see them and others in their corrupt administration in prison.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 10:11 PM on November 6, 2008 [1 favorite]

Is it just me, or does George W. seem like kind of an OK guy now?

I sure hope it's just you. What a weird attitude. I'm with stav: hang 'em high.
posted by languagehat at 4:41 AM on November 7, 2008

Barack Obama: Hope for America, but not for the world?

Worth a read. Biased, maybe, but interesting.
posted by chuckdarwin at 6:34 AM on November 7, 2008 [1 favorite]

I sure hope it's just you. What a weird attitude.

Nah, it's not that. I'm not giving him a pass for his deliberate, evil actions and his uncanny ability to turn to crap everything he touched; I still think he's the worst thing to ever happen to our nation and trust me, my memory is long and I won't soon forget it. I guess what I mean is, my venom has run dry. I'm too happy about Barack Obama to care about Bush anymore.

Honestly, I wouldn't want to be in Bush's shoes. He gets to live out his golden years while history writes his epitaph and it won't be a flattering one. If he has any conscience at all, I hope the remainder of his days are remorseful, for the power he abused and the people he hurt and the goodwill he squandered. But I'm diverting all my energy toward supporting Obama. I'm not going to cling to any more negativity because that runs counter to what needs to be in my brain and in my heart to do my bit to turn this shit around.
posted by brain cloud at 7:37 AM on November 7, 2008 [5 favorites]

Groundsview is one of the bests sites I've come across for news on Sri Lanka. It's certainly an interesting (different) take on things. I actually agree with most of his points.
posted by chunking express at 7:52 AM on November 7, 2008

In a fit of Obamenthusiasm, my favorite Canadian has made "Happy Birthday Mister President" free for download. So yay.
posted by Shepherd at 12:12 PM on November 7, 2008

Palin on Ted Stevens today: "Me not be a dictator."
posted by EarBucket at 5:37 PM on November 7, 2008 [1 favorite]

Naturally I still hold him accountable for all the horrifying shit he's done to the US and to the world during his 2 terms, yet I'm suddenly feeling inclined to be very kind to him for the remainder of his administration.

You don't think he's learned to play it after decades of being a fuckup? Butter wouldn't melt in that guy's mouth, but people still want to buy him a beer. He played an entire nation, don't fall for his shit.
posted by The Light Fantastic at 7:28 PM on November 7, 2008 [4 favorites]

EarBucket, thank you for using that particular anchor in your link
posted by jpdoane at 8:52 PM on November 7, 2008 [1 favorite]

From EarBucket's link,

"If there are allegations based on questions or comments that I made in debate prep about NAFTA, and about the continent vs. the country when we talk about Africa there, then those were taken out of context," [Palin] said.

She can't even backtrack effectively. You'd think after all the publicity, it wouldn't be so hard to say, "and about the continent of Africa there, then those were taken out of context."
posted by cybercoitus interruptus at 9:17 PM on November 7, 2008

Nate Silver is enabling my political addiction. I think I'm going to need an intervention.
posted by Tehanu at 8:18 PM on November 9, 2008 [1 favorite]

Is it just me, or does George W. seem like kind of an OK guy now?

No, he is not. You don't have to dwell in negativity. But no, this is a man who, along with Dick Cheney, Ashcroft and crew, has spawned a whole new generation of folks looking to get back in the White House and repeat the same atrocities.

GWB has given unfettered access to Cheney et al. to continue the path of destruction that they started under the Nixon administration. The last time this crew was in power, they were up to stupid tricks (in the late '80s), they were back between 2000-2008, and they'll be looking for a way back in.

So, you don't have to broil in anger. But don't think this is over. Because it's not.
posted by jeanmari at 4:43 AM on November 10, 2008 [3 favorites]

Nate Silver gets big props in NYT.
posted by contessa at 7:03 AM on November 10, 2008

People in the U.S. and Kenya naming babies born this week after the Obamas.
posted by Tehanu at 7:50 AM on November 10, 2008

Belatedly, for the Canadian fans.
posted by CunningLinguist at 11:33 AM on November 10, 2008

So, who won?
posted by magstheaxe at 12:46 PM on November 12, 2008

We did.
posted by Tehanu at 1:12 PM on November 12, 2008 [5 favorites]