Election Day Live Blogging
All times are Pakistan Standard Time
4:37 am: The polls in the early states close in 23 minutes time. There is likely to be a long wait before the inevitable is confirmed. But man is it fun watching the Fox News guys. In just the past few hours, they have been running a tape of Black Panthers standing outside a polling station in Pennsylvania on a loop and Karl Rove has outright stated that officials at a county in Indiana are going to be the last in the country to announce their results, just in case they need to put Obama over the top. Oh, and Bill Kristol has predicted that McCain will lose the popular vote by 4-5 points and win the electoral college. So we can rule that one out. Then right-wing radio host Laura Ingram said "Sarah Palin appeals to Joe the Plumber and also clever people." So, we can agree Joe The Plumber is a dumb ass?
4:49 am: Here's why you should ignore the exit polls. Apparently 12% of voters prefer the candidate who cares about people like them. So a vast majority of the country want a president who doesn't give a shit about them.
4:58 am: Can we all agree that the true hero to emerge from this election is Nate Silver of FiveThreeEight? He has made polling a combination of math and art. It really is quite beautiful to watch. His final prediction: Obama 349 - McCain 189. You can be sure he won't be wrong by much.
5:00 am: McCain is given Kentucky and Obama Vermont. As I get sleepier, I'm just gonna assume you guys are watching this on TV and will not bother with obvious states.
5:10 am: Brit Hume says, "McCain is leading Obama 8-3, so he's winning right now." And then he laughs for about 10 seconds. Even the Fox guys, excpeting Kristol, are talking about this election as if its over.
5:20 am: I just switched over to CNN and they are using holograms to make it seem as if their reporters are in the studio. How much money did they spend on this essentially useless technology? Hasn't the economic crisis hit CNN?
5:42 am: West Virginia goes for McCain. Again: Yawwn. Fox is saying Ohio is too early to call while while North Carolina is too close to call. Anyone here who can explain the difference?
5:51 am: McCain wins South Carolina. McCain leads 21-3. Too bad for him this isn't table tennis.
6:01 am: A bunch of other states are called by Fox. This is starting to get anti-climactic. Here are some races I'm looking forward to. In Minnesota, intelligent comedian Al Franken is running a close race against decent, if way too conservative, Norm Coleman. It'll also be interesting to see if Proposition 8 in California (which seeks to ban gay marriage) passes. And everyone pray Elizabeth Dole loses her Senate seat in North Carolina (which seems likely).
6:09 am: I just read on a bunch of blogs that MSNBC has projected that Obama has won Pennsylvania. And Elizabeth Dole has lost. Was Nate Silver being too pessimistic?
6.15 am: [NB] On CNN, John with the big map board and the keg of Red Bull is clearly very excited, and is just talking and talking and talking and talking and talking and continually touching his giant map board, and Campbell Brown is having trouble getting a word in. According to Red Bull Map Dude, preliminary results indicate that Florida is looking good for Obama.
4:37 am: The polls in the early states close in 23 minutes time. There is likely to be a long wait before the inevitable is confirmed. But man is it fun watching the Fox News guys. In just the past few hours, they have been running a tape of Black Panthers standing outside a polling station in Pennsylvania on a loop and Karl Rove has outright stated that officials at a county in Indiana are going to be the last in the country to announce their results, just in case they need to put Obama over the top. Oh, and Bill Kristol has predicted that McCain will lose the popular vote by 4-5 points and win the electoral college. So we can rule that one out. Then right-wing radio host Laura Ingram said "Sarah Palin appeals to Joe the Plumber and also clever people." So, we can agree Joe The Plumber is a dumb ass?
4:49 am: Here's why you should ignore the exit polls. Apparently 12% of voters prefer the candidate who cares about people like them. So a vast majority of the country want a president who doesn't give a shit about them.
4:58 am: Can we all agree that the true hero to emerge from this election is Nate Silver of FiveThreeEight? He has made polling a combination of math and art. It really is quite beautiful to watch. His final prediction: Obama 349 - McCain 189. You can be sure he won't be wrong by much.
5:00 am: McCain is given Kentucky and Obama Vermont. As I get sleepier, I'm just gonna assume you guys are watching this on TV and will not bother with obvious states.
5:10 am: Brit Hume says, "McCain is leading Obama 8-3, so he's winning right now." And then he laughs for about 10 seconds. Even the Fox guys, excpeting Kristol, are talking about this election as if its over.
5:20 am: I just switched over to CNN and they are using holograms to make it seem as if their reporters are in the studio. How much money did they spend on this essentially useless technology? Hasn't the economic crisis hit CNN?
5:42 am: West Virginia goes for McCain. Again: Yawwn. Fox is saying Ohio is too early to call while while North Carolina is too close to call. Anyone here who can explain the difference?
5:51 am: McCain wins South Carolina. McCain leads 21-3. Too bad for him this isn't table tennis.
6:01 am: A bunch of other states are called by Fox. This is starting to get anti-climactic. Here are some races I'm looking forward to. In Minnesota, intelligent comedian Al Franken is running a close race against decent, if way too conservative, Norm Coleman. It'll also be interesting to see if Proposition 8 in California (which seeks to ban gay marriage) passes. And everyone pray Elizabeth Dole loses her Senate seat in North Carolina (which seems likely).
6:09 am: I just read on a bunch of blogs that MSNBC has projected that Obama has won Pennsylvania. And Elizabeth Dole has lost. Was Nate Silver being too pessimistic?
6.15 am: [NB] On CNN, John with the big map board and the keg of Red Bull is clearly very excited, and is just talking and talking and talking and talking and talking and continually touching his giant map board, and Campbell Brown is having trouble getting a word in. According to Red Bull Map Dude, preliminary results indicate that Florida is looking good for Obama.
6:17 am: For comedic and gloating purposes, I suggest everyone check out the right-wing National Review blog The Corner. Sample post: I was just in the elevator at NR World Headquarters and was told (I was wearing McCain) "your guy lost." "Not yet!"
7:11 am: Apparently, the crack election reporting team over at BBC America includes Ricky Gervais. Sucks we don't get that channel in Pakistan but I'm sure there will be some YouTube videos soon.
7:20 am: John Bolton on BBC called Obama the most radical candidate ever to become president (yeah, he's given up) and said Palin helped McCain with independent voters. Everyone else told him he's an idiot. This has said before but it bears repeating: BBC is a quality news organization that even CNN can't hope to much. Shame they don't have any shiny gadgets and Star Wars-era holograms though.
7:43 am: I didn't know much about Bill Ayers and everything I heard about during the election made him seem like a thoroughly unlikable guy, even if he was peripheral to Obama's life. But the interview he gave to The New Yorker, which he insisted not be published until Election Day, reflects well on him. Where Jeremiah Wright, Joe the Plumber and all the other supporting cast in the election wallowed in their brief fame, Ayers has managed to preserve his dignity. And in this election that is no mean feat.
7:58 am: FiveThirtyEight points to a post on Daily Kos from 2004 congratulating Obama for winning his Senate race. The second commenter to the post said, "I definitely expect Barack Obama to break the color line, maybe as soon as 2012 as the Edwards VP." Stop for a moment and think about how historic this is.
8:29 am: Alright guys. I'd hoped to last till the end but I must sleep. I have to work this afternoon and this election is over. Not a complete blow out yetbut pretty comprehensive nonetheless. If Obama wins Florida, North Carolina and Indiana (should be Obama, too close to call, too close to call), this will be a massive landslide. Its been a fun four hours.
9:00 am: Okay, so I decided to have breakfast and wait for it to be official. Barack Obama will be the next president of the United States.
9:19 am: I had to stick around for the concession and victory speeches. McCain is being gracious (I would expect no less) but there is some booing. Disgusting.
10:16 am: I have nothing substantive to say about Obama's speech. Let me just say that I love him and think he has the potential to be a great man
6.30 am: [NB] Obama’s Chief Campaign Strategist David Axelrod is on CNN, talking to Wolf Blitzer. Wow. David Axelrod and Wolf Blitzer. Their names are so hardcore, the encounter sounds like a Viking wrestling match. In actuality, its two cerebral and slightly avuncular middle aged chappies having a chat about Obama’s basketball game and the passing of his grandmother.
6:33 am: Here is what we have learned so far, based on exit polling data from Penn. PUMAs don't exist. And for the first time in generations, Democrats are competing evenly for the male vote. Bill Kristol Update: He looks like he wants to cry. The only bright spot he sees is that the Dems may not get a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.
7:11 am: Apparently, the crack election reporting team over at BBC America includes Ricky Gervais. Sucks we don't get that channel in Pakistan but I'm sure there will be some YouTube videos soon.
7:20 am: John Bolton on BBC called Obama the most radical candidate ever to become president (yeah, he's given up) and said Palin helped McCain with independent voters. Everyone else told him he's an idiot. This has said before but it bears repeating: BBC is a quality news organization that even CNN can't hope to much. Shame they don't have any shiny gadgets and Star Wars-era holograms though.
7:43 am: I didn't know much about Bill Ayers and everything I heard about during the election made him seem like a thoroughly unlikable guy, even if he was peripheral to Obama's life. But the interview he gave to The New Yorker, which he insisted not be published until Election Day, reflects well on him. Where Jeremiah Wright, Joe the Plumber and all the other supporting cast in the election wallowed in their brief fame, Ayers has managed to preserve his dignity. And in this election that is no mean feat.
7:58 am: FiveThirtyEight points to a post on Daily Kos from 2004 congratulating Obama for winning his Senate race. The second commenter to the post said, "I definitely expect Barack Obama to break the color line, maybe as soon as 2012 as the Edwards VP." Stop for a moment and think about how historic this is.
8:29 am: Alright guys. I'd hoped to last till the end but I must sleep. I have to work this afternoon and this election is over. Not a complete blow out yetbut pretty comprehensive nonetheless. If Obama wins Florida, North Carolina and Indiana (should be Obama, too close to call, too close to call), this will be a massive landslide. Its been a fun four hours.
9:00 am: Okay, so I decided to have breakfast and wait for it to be official. Barack Obama will be the next president of the United States.
9:19 am: I had to stick around for the concession and victory speeches. McCain is being gracious (I would expect no less) but there is some booing. Disgusting.
10:16 am: I have nothing substantive to say about Obama's speech. Let me just say that I love him and think he has the potential to be a great man
11 comments:
You're late :@ hahaha
Florida seems to be going to Obama. Too early still, I think 3% of precincts have reported, but still. Indiana is too close as well. Should be a landslide *fingers crossed*
If you look at the districts that are reporting from Indiana, they should all be pro-McCain. I think Obama's gonna win Indiana. And yeah this will be a bigger landslide than any of us dared hope for.
BBC seemed to be fairly slow early in the night. CNN does have a shitload of information though, and their interactive map is wanktastic. The hologram was amazing though, hahahaha. Blitzer spent as much time talking about the hologram as he did to Jessica "Yellin".
Landslide baby. Come on now.
I'm relying primarily on CNN's website for info but watching them on TV gave me a headache. BBC is having actual discussions and Fox is actually quite sober, if quite morose. I also find it interesting that Fox has been far quicker to call states (mostly for Obama) than anyone else.
That's true, it's almost as if Fox want to get it over with and take their beating :\
CNN's music is so ridiculously dramatic; completely agree about them handing you headaches.
CNN has the Senate races at 54-37
http://edition.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/president/
hey guys, Obama has been declared the US President elect.
McCain has conceeded. God bless America. We have change, lets see where it leads us. please pray for the world to become a better place.
You know how when you're watching an incredible film or a fantastic cricket match / football game, and you're thoroughly enjoying yourself, as it nears it's end, if that event is truly great, you feel a little sad because you know that this spectacular ride is about to conclude - that's how I felt listening to Obama.
And you know how when it's over, BECAUSE it's over, while you feel great on the whole because you thoroughly enjoyed yourself, a little part of you is sad because it didn't just keep going - that's how I felt when his speech ended.
What I love most about this moment isn't even so much about what he said (which was great, not to take anything away from it) - for me, it's really about what comes next.
"Let me just say that I love him"
Chill out dude.
I am the Barack Obama of Pakistan.
To President-elect Obama,
In the words of your wife: "Don't screw it up buddy."
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