SteveSilver.net

Election Night 2008 Liveblog

6:44: And we're live, here in Broomall. I love that MSNBC's on-screen graphics are eerily similar to those ESPN uses for the NFL Draft.

6:46: I voted today at my local precinct, and surprisingly, there was no line at all. Obama's get-out-the-vote operation was something to behold- I got four different phone calls in the last few days, and I don't even know how many door-hanging things. I even managed to get my politics-hating wife to join me and vote.

7:00: First projections from MSNBC- Obama wins Vermont, McCain wins Kentucky. No big surprises, I'd say.

7:04: Mark Warner wins the Virginia Senate seat. Judging by his sleep-inducing DNC keynote, let's just say I'm glad he didn't run for president.

7:18: On CNN, Jessica Yellin is being interviewed by Wolf Blitzer- "via hologram!" WTF? CNN, building a bridge to the 24th century.

7:30: All 7:30 states are too close to call.

7:57: CNN calls South Carolina for McCain, even though Obama is winning. Again, not much of a shocker there.

8:00: Obama wins Massachusetts, Illinois, Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, DC and Maine; McCain carries Oklahoma and Tennessee.

8:02: MSNBC calls Pennyslvania for Obama! I think the election just ended. Obama just compared it to the Battle of Gettysburg, because "the Republicans lost." Huh?

8:04: Obama wins New Hampshire, too.

8:09: Howard Dean interviewed on MSNBC. Who would have thought he, as DNC chairman, would preside over one of the most successful runs in the history of the Democratic Party?

8:11: Obama won Hillary voters in PA by an 81-19 margin. And how many articles were there about the PUMA "phenomenon"? 500?

8:16: Biden is reelected to the Senate in Delaware. Funny that he could so easily win when he obviously doesn't even want to be a Senate anymore. John Kerry was re-elected too; I had forgotten he was even running.

8:23: Fox is holding off on calling PA for Obama. I'm shocked, shocked!

8:25: MSNBC's cameras are showing the Palm Beach County election officials examining ballots. What year is this?

8:31: Kay Hagen wins the North Carolina Senate race over Elizabeth Dole. Let this be a lesson: if you accuse your opponent, in a TV commercial, of not believing in God, you'll probably lose.

8:36: McCain wins Georgia. Would have been nice for Obama, but oh well, he didn't need it.

9:00: Here we go: McCain wins Kansas, Wyoming and North Dakota, Obama wins New York, Michigan, Minnesota (!), Wisconsin and Rhode Island. Arizona, unbelievably, is too close to call.

9:16: Fox calls New Mexico for Obama- that's the first '04 red state to flip. Almost there...

9:18: Fox calls Ohio for Obama. If that's right, then it's over. And Karl Rove's there to watch.

9:34: I really miss Tim Russert tonight. Him and his dry-erase board.

10:09: November is like January- Obama wins Iowa.

10:46: Chuck Todd guesses that if Tim Russsert were alive, he wouldn't be writing down the name of any state- he'd be writing "Bush, Bush, Bush."

10:47: Anderson Cooper talks to a hologram of Will.i.am. I'd pay attention to what they're talking about, but I can't stop laughing.

10:50: Fox calls Virginia for Obama. That means California will put him over the top at 11.

11:00: With the calling of California, Washington and Oregon, Barack Obama is the 44th president of the United States.

11:18: McCain concession time. It just hit me- Sarah Palin will not be vice president. Whew. McCain looks like he's talking to about 200 people. The idiots are still booing Obama, but at least no one yelled "terrorist!" this time.

11:21: Obama wins Florida and Colorado, too.

11:26: McCain just thanked his "campaign comrades." Does that mean he's a socialist????

11:28: Overall, a classy speech by McCain. The crowd there? Not so classy.

11:40: As David Gregory reads a statement from Hillary Clinton, Chris Matthews can be heard laughing audibly in the background.

11:46: The winning presidential candidate will give his acceptance speech on actual Election Night for the first time since 1996.

11:59: "We as a people will get there." Hell of a speech, even though it's probably not in the top ten of those he's given.

12:23: This feels a lot like the last scene of a movie, doesn't it? No words, just music and celebrating.

12:48: All right, that's it for tonight. Still don't know who won Indiana, North Carolina, Montana or Missouri; also still waiting on that Minnesota Senate race as well as the Michele Bachmann Congressional seat. More on that tomorrow; but in the meantime check out my special election night North Star column.

Posted by Stephen Silver at November 4, 2008 06:44 PM