My Election Night Diary

6:45 - Settle in on the couch after some excellent Chinese food...Get both TVs up and running (CNN on the main screen w/ Audio, Fox on the small TV, no audio)...Get Safari set (i.e. get my 5-10 tabs going on different news sources)

6:53 - Reality sets in...I had put the memory of my last election night bender out of my mind. I had pretended it never happened. I spent most of the 2004 election sitting on my couch, drinking jack daniels, trying to understand how it was possible to lose, and trying to get a grip on the prospects of 4 more years of W. I suddenly get cold feet. Maybe indifference is the way to go. Can I handle this again?

7:00 - Polls close in the first part of the East Coast. Results start coming in immediatly. I feel better. Not because good news comes in, just because I have settled in and "prepped" myself for whatever is to come. I don't feel great about Ford. The last set of polls were bad. Corker dumped his own money in 48 hours ago to steal this thing. Corker has no business in the Senate. I hope TN is prepared to be a joke if that happens.

7:30 - Things are looking okay. We've picked up a little in the House, and haven't picked up the Senate yet, but we look like we're about ready to.

8:00 - Polls close in TN. Now the intense waiting begins.

8:17 - I've got 4 tabs right now. CNN - Overall. CNN - TN (0%). Fox - Overall (pretty crappy coverage). ABC News - Overall (really crappy coverage). Waiting for things to get more specific. Thats when the fun starts.

9:00 - We're up 6 in the House, 2 in the Senate. Things look okay. Its early, and we're 1/3 of the way there on both sides of the Congress. I have dropped the ABC News tab. It was really bad. I can't sit still. Holly, Aaron, and I are going to get ice cream. Maryland is going to stay with the Democrats. That was the one Senate seat the GOP thought they could steal.

9:18 - Back from Brewster's. Cinnamon ice cream is bad-ass. I recommend it. Coffee ice cream sucks. So does Coffee. Things are about the same, its 7 House seats, still on 2 Senate seats with one more close. As the numbers really start to come in for Ford, it looks bad. Initial numbers (under 10%) show as much as 42-56 Corker. That can't be right. It rained in East TN all day and not out west. Thats got to be good for Ford...

9:55 - Things are happening in waves. Its been slow for a bit, but things are about to change with the 10 o'clock closings. In the next 90 minutes things should be sorted out. 9 House seats gained, 2 Senate.

10:10 - We're getting closer...Corker is leading pretty comfortably, but Memphis and Nashville aren't in at all. I don't by a 60k vote lead until ONE of those two cities are in. I'm not sweating it yet, but I'd like to see it get to 51-48 soon, at least by 70%.

10:50 - We're getting really close...TO THE DAILY SHOW/COLBERT REPORT! Thats right everyone, 1 hour of live co-chaired election brilliance!

11:02 - So...Colbert and Stewart aren't actually at the desk together. Thats disappointing. Still funny. Ford isn't making up enough ground.

11:12 - CNN declares the House of Reps to the DEMOCRATS! The country has spoken! Jim Schulman tells me the Dems pick up 25-30 seats. Ford holds around 47-52. Still waiting on 2/3 of Memphis, and most of Nashville. Stewart is killing me on the Daily Show. Dems also pick up a third senate seat. 3 more to go. Looks like its going to be TN, MO, MT, AZ, and VA in the end. Things look bad in VA and TN, MO is too early to tell, but bad early, MT is not coming in yet.

11:37 - AZ is going to go GOP. Its looking bad for Ford. Memphis is starting to come in, almost 75% now. Nashville still down around 40%. Come on JR! No matter what happens here, Ford has shown he is a viable candidate in TN. For a black republican with HIS FAMILY REPUTATION who spent his WHOLE LIFE in D.C. to come into TN and bring in 48%(+) is outstanding. People on CNN say he will be a star for the Democrats. The question is where? He won't run for his old Conressional Seat will he? He can't possibly gear up and run against Alexander starting...tomorrow, can he? Govenor is out o the question for the time being. I don't see where he fits in. Plus, if he did run against Alexander, he doesn't hold a prayer. If he can't be a clown like Corker for an OPEN seat, how can he beat a popular incumbent?

12:04 - I'm tired of these AARP commercials. Don't they know its too late?

12:10 - Is Harry Reid dead? He looks terrible. Not as bad as James Carville. He looked like a corpse! Reid didn't say anything. I don't mean he didn't say anything good, he litteraly didn't say anything worthwile. It was all hyperbole and "catch phrases". Disappointing. How did this jackass become our minority leader? Speaking of minority leader, who replaces Frist if the GOP keeps the Senate? Reid did make a point that bothers me. While I agree that divided gov't is responsible gov't, I don't think that today is the day to remind the country of that, since we want them to elect Democrats to the WH in 2008.

12:18 - All of Memphis is in, 63% FORD. Thats good, but we needed more - Only about 250,000 votes. Still a significant gap to fill. not looking good. the TN - Shelby County tab is coming off...

12:25 - Finally alone. Kandel, Holly, Gregg, and Julie took off.

12:39 - CNN calls TN for Corker. I should be crushed. I should feel like I did almost 730 days ago. I should need a cat (or a gun), yet, I'm not so bad. Ford ran a great campaign. He has emerged on the national scene. The DNC made it clear they love him, and see big things for him. He made incredible headway in TN for a black democrat. PLUS, the Dems have the HOUSE! MO still looks like its going for Talent. MT has started to come in heavy now, and Tester is still running around 54% against a weak incumbent. VA is not going to be decided tonight. I mean, Webb will declare victory, and Allen will NOT conceed. Its within a margin that will most certainly bring about recounts, provisionals, absentees, etc.

12:42 - Taking TN off the tabs...

1:00 - CNN's Paul Begala just said - "I suspect several, either law professors or law students will be skipping school, coming up this week"...It seems that both parties are putting a APB out for people to hit VA and prepare for the legal battle. People need to see that everything is done correctly, and efficiently. Anyone want to head to VA with me? WE can commute to southern VA and home every day.

1:22 - Things are still good for Tester in MT. McCaskil just took a lead (only 14K) in MO. VA is stuck on 2,300 votes.

1:32 - You know things have slowed down when Larry King is talking nonsense. Wait, everytime the man opens his mouth he seems to have gotten more senile over the break. Larry...hang up the suspenders. Boxer is bragging about there being ZERO losses for incumbent Democrats. GOP must love that.

1:34 - The tabs are down to Overall, VA, MO, MT, and MO - STL City/County. Things are moving so slowly. Nothing will be resolved tonight, and the talent is off the air for the night (no offense Larry). McCain is dodging questions about 2008. "I haven't even thought about it" is the most absurd thing I've ever heard.

1:37 - Shelly Sekula Gibbs failed to win Tom Delay's seat, and Nick Lampson (a former Congressman who lost to Delay as a result of the very fraudulent "re-districting" that lead to Delays fall) which is a big pickup for the Democrats. Democrats now have 221 House seats to 181 for the GOP. 218 = majority. We've gotten it done!

1:41 - CNN's John King points out that for the first time he can remember, John McCain wasn't sitting in an Arizona office with a shot of the desert behind him. He had the Arizona and US flags behidn him and, as King said, he looked "presidential". Candy Crowley wont shut up about 2008. Apparently Hilliary came out to "You ain't seen nothing yet" with Bill on her side, and the 2008 season is under way.

1:46 - Things continue to pick up in MO. McCaskill is up almost 20k now, and only 55% of St. Louis County is in. Can't get over it. 26 house pickups. thats huge. No losses. Thats bigger. People are asking, is this war "about Iraq"? It certainly is, but its about more. Its about ethics. Its about responsible government. Its about spending what you've got. Its about medicare and social security. Its about 9/11. Its about President Bush. It was about the Republicans (unfortunatly not about the Democrats). The democrats have to come out strong tomorrow. They have to have a strong showing. Pelosi did a decent job. I really don't like her, but if she is going to play nice, and moderate, rather than polarize, I'll support her.

1:50 - Its hard to imagine. If three more people got elected as independents, they could control this country. 5 Independents in the Senate would have all the power if they could stay truly indepenent. I love democracy. When it works, its the greatest invention this planet has seen. The notion that those who hold power actually attribute that power to "the people" and peacefully hand that power over when the people tell them to go home. Its amazing. Its unlike anything this world had seen before. Thats why we fight in Iraq. That doesn't mean its right to be there, but it would be amazing to see it actually work. I mean, hell, if we're going to be there, we should probably at least suceed right? Not at any cost or anything, but if its feasible to fulfill the dream of creating an arab democracy, why not? Its a gift. Not one that we need to give everyone, but one that, when an opporunity arises to spread it, we may have a duty. A friend from HS is an Iraq veteran. I respect the hell out of his decision to go to war for us. I thank him for it, and I'm happy he made it back safely. I'm sorry he lost friends. He feels like Americans are too spoiled to udnerstand the imporatnce of what we're doing over there. That we don't udnerstand what living in a world WITHOUT democracy is like. Imagine what it would be like for Iraqi's to be just as spoiled in 30 years? Anyways, thast enough about that.

1:56 - Can't watch this anymore...have to sleep...Its been a good night. The Democrats HAD to take the House. The Senate was a stretch and would really just be icing on this cake. Its not too late, McCaskill has declared victory, not that anyone in the Media is going to declare this tonight. Montana still looks good too. VA is up in the air. Its like when your sports team isn't that good so its not like you expect a championship, but you still want to make the playoffs, and winning one game would be big. We made the playoffs when we took the majority of the Govornerships. They won the one game they had to win when they took the House.

2:03 - I was supposed to be going to bed, but it looks like Missori might get sorted out right now. We're going to hear from Jim Talent. The gap in Montana is closing. Senator Talent says "I've made up my mind that, no matter what happened today, I was going to give thanks to god for whats happened in my life..." sounds like a losing speech doesn't it? CNN cuts away, assuming this is goign to take a while...
You can tell by how fucking long people clap (with no verbal screaming). "so many people to thank," yada yada yada... The gap in Montana is closing. 4% (10K) with 64% in. Candy thinks the headline tonight is that the country is against the war. Random CNN analyist #1 just said its about Bush. Random CNN analyist #2 makes a public plea for the politicians to not let the country go through christmas without knowing who controls the senate. That is so obnoxious. Who are you Random analyist #2, to make such a statement. I think we should get it right. THIS TIME.

2:07 - Carville makes a good point, this isn't an ANTI INCUMBENT result, as the incumbents that lost are all Republicans.

2:09 - CNN declares Claire McCaskill wins Missouri.

2:11 - A summary of the night, on a personal level: I missed the person I watched the last few elections with. Its impossible not too honestly. Not only because of who that person is, but because of how much this election affects our future (not ours in the personal sense, but rather in the royal sense). I drank 2 bottles of water, 1 "Vitawater - Revive", smoked 1/2 a pack of cigarettes since 7pm, ate my leftover Chinese, drank two beers, and now, at 2:15 in the morning, I'm sitting on the couch in my boxers with the glow of two TVs and a laptop. There is something so comforting about this feeling. Never in my political life have I gotten to sit at the end of an election and actually feel good. This is the first time we've won in my adult life. I can only imagine what 1994 was like. I'm going to get in bed and try to stay awake until the call is made in Montana. It looks like the Dems are going to control BOTH houses. with MO in the Democrat category, and Montana still leaning that way all we need is for the VA results to hold up. All in all, its been a good night. 8am class is not sounding so hot though. oh, and I didn't get a BIT of work done.

2:14 - Okay, the morning crew is on, its time to sleep. I hope you've enjoyed my blog (the 1 or 2 people who MIGHT skim all the way tot he bottom.

2:24 - By the way, I HATE the term "purple state"...But you better get used to it.

*Sorry this isn't spell checked or "formatted" I just don't have the time or energy to clean this up. Not enough people will read it to justify spending another 1/2 hour on this.

Stay Tuned...