Election Day News, Notes, Anecdotes, and Thoughts

Today I decided to do an almost live-blogging type thing. At 2:30 pm this afternoon I voted in New Haven, CT at a fire station that was fairly sleepy. Then again, likely most folks were out working. I start a new job tomorrow myself (very excited about that!). Meanwhile, I was speaking with a new co-worker this evening and she shared the following anecdote:

Apparently, while Barack Obama's grandmother passed away very late Sunday evening there is a tiny bit more to the story. A few days before she passed, she cast her absentee ballot for her grandson, whom she raised for significant parts of his childhood. I can think of few more breath-taking images to encapsulate this moment. Thinking of my own grandparents, god rest their souls, this story does give me very pleasant chills of family pride and connection and makes me again reflect on just how historic this day is. I've verified the story here, here and here.

Meanwhile, I was on Purple State Blog, one of my favorite politically-related blogs (and also an almost daily source for some sort of fun video) where they linked to the article, "I Didn't Vote for Obama Today," which is very much worth your time.

I'll post some more thoughts when I get opportunities between watching the results and having some dinner this evening. I don't know about you, but I'm excited. Here we go folks... this evening should be an interesting and hopefully a very exciting ride!

7:00 PM - Huffington Post has a nice slideshow of polling place and voting photos from today, and on the page linked above they have links to slideshows from today in the life of each candidate for Pres and VP. Meanwhile, CNN just called VT for Obama, Kentucky for McCain. Neither is a surprise.

7:05 PM - I just checked in on a cool interactive map over at Daily Kos, and on a fun side note, a friend of mine, Melissa, works for Free Range Studios, the design company that helped put this page together along with all the mechanisms that make it work. Oh, and CNN just predicted that Mark Warner (D) will win the open Senate seat in VA. Very cool! I'm a big fan of Mark Warner. Seems that VA will soon have 2 sitting Democratic Senators!

7:17 PM - CNN is now reporting the election via hologram technology! Princess Leia is live in the "Election Center" via hologram talking to Wolf Blitzer who is on the Death Star with a wookie. It's amazing. I'm... speechless. More later.

8:31 PM - Results continue to roll in. Looks like all of New England is going blue in the presidential race, and like the Senate seat in NH is going from R to D. Meanwhile, Liddy Dole is getting a gigantic run for her money in North Carolina and networks are calling PA for Obama (not a big surprise given recent poll results there have tended to all show Obama with a double-digit lead). The interactive map described above continues to get more and more and more interesting over time.

9:33 PM - From the comments: Shaheen just won NH.... BTW, This is only the second time in history that two Americans with Arabic names have faced each other in a senate race... I am proud of my home state!

Very cool, Venice! Meanwhile, NC continues to look good. Looks like Dole is flat-out done down there, unless something weird and big happens soon. What an interesting and exciting evening for socially progressive folks... in many ways more than usual I'm pretty speechless right now. Wow! MSNBC just called New Mexico for Udall in the Senate... interesting given the votes currently popping up. More to see here folks... definitely more to see.

10:55 PM - CNN calls VA for Obama... that means that he has 220 so with CA he has 275... 5 more than needed.

11:01 PM - CNN Fox and MSNBC call it for Obama. I'm so happy so elated... this is amazing.

11:06 PM - Perhaps even more amazing, the comentators on Fox News are talking about what a likable guy Obama is.

11:09 PM - MSNBC is gushing enough to make up for what I can't quite seem to form words around...

11:17 PM - I'm not going to lie, the image of Jesse Jackson crying tonight got me a little choked up. This really is a truly historic night, and while I've been looking forward to the history that might be made today, it is nice to have an image to really help drive home the massive significance.

11:23 PM - Can't keep up with live blogging it, but here a couple minutes into McCain's concession speech I am struck once again by just what a dignified, honorable, and remarkable guy he is. His kind words about Obama's grandmother, his words urging his supporters and fellow Americans to work together to help make change... just all around respectable and damn cool.

11:34 PM - Hi comments crew! I totally just realized that you all are here!!! It makes me so happy, and is anybody else a little overwhelmed right now??? I'm just so relieved an d happy, like something I had lost is coming back... my belief that something this good can happen ... kinda like the way things changed when I realized it was possible the Phillies just might win the World Series but on such a different scale... honestly, I'm totally losing composure. This is a very cool moment, and I'm glad that out there in cyberspace you all are taking it all in at the same time... I keep hoping that 56 number CNN is projecting for Dems in the Senate will keep going up... but I don't want to get greedy with what I hope for tonight!

12:15 AM - "To those who would tear the world down, we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security we support you, and to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright, tonight we've proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals, democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope."