Final Thoughts

From there the afternoon became a flurry of phone calls and text messages, of conversations and observations, of good spirits and laughs. And, eventually, a celebratory cocktail.

I've never been big on parades, not even on an occasion such as this, and so it came as no surprise to me when my attention span was exceeded. I was in the car and on the way home when the news broke about Ted Kennedy. That it appears now to have been a false alarm prevents an ugly stain from being forever attached the day's events. Still, at the time it was a jolt, an unpleasant reminder that real life does go on.

We are almost two weeks removed from Inauguration Day as of this writing, and over that time I have come to realize that putting my thoughts about Barack Obama and the beginning of his administration down on paper was a much more difficult task than I ever believed it would be. I struggled with why that was, with why the end result I had advocated, hoped and voted for didn't inspire me more thoroughly than it has. And what I eventually realized was this:

What had the greatest impact on me that day was not the speeches or the pageantry or the crowds or the euphoria that seemed to grip almost this entire nation. What struck me most, and what has stayed with me most clearly, is the retreat from Washington in disgrace of George W. Bush. It is not the image of Barack Obama taking the oath of office but rather of the long, slow helicopter ride over and across the Mall, of the dramatic pause above the Jefferson Memorial, and of the final departure from Andrews Air Force Base. It was then that I understood that Bush was simply going to return to Texas and to the same cushy and pampered life he had led for 54 years before coming to power—and that it is the rest of us (not just Obama) who are tasked to clean up the mess he has left behind.

Some have said that electing Obama was the easy part, but it seems now that getting rid of Bush was pretty easy, too—even if it did take us eight years to do it. It is now when the real work begins, and in fact already had begun before the celebration was even complete.

Where will we be four years from now? No one can know for sure...but I, for one, do honestly believe we as a nation will be better off than we are today.

God help us all if I'm wrong.

Old, True, and Overdue: The Inauguration Blog

Inauguration Day began for me at 5:15am in the tiny hamlet of Bridgewater, Massachusetts. Ninety minutes later I settled into my chosen viewing location for the day's events: A couch at the homestead in Wellesley. To be there in DC would be great, but only to be able to say I was there. If you really want to see it happen then the best seat in the house is in your house.

6:52am: The TV is already tuned to the local ABC affiliate when I turn it on. I'm lucky enough to be just in time to catch local anchor Bianca de la Garza remind us that tonight “ABC has exclusive coverage of the First Couple's first dance.” The fact that they are hyping that is as good an indication as any you will ever see of why I prefer NBC. And so it begins...

7am: Good Morning America kicks off with the ridiculous scene on the Mall. Already the crowd is packed in and we are still hours away. I will give these people credit—that is determination. You have to really want to see something to stand outside in the cold all night long just to get what passes for close in the non-ticketed section. What I really want is another cup of coffee, and my prime viewing spot in the living room is conveniently placed only a short walk away from the kitchen.

7:10: Robin Roberts on Jill Biden's comments the day before that Joe Biden was given a choice between Vice President and Secretary of State. I love that both Bidens have trouble controlling their mouths. They just seem like likable people all around. But I am left wondering if she really didn't understand announcing that was going to cause controversy. Really? You didn't know? Still, anything that makes the Clintons uncomfortable also makes me happy. So thanks to you, Mrs. Biden.

7:30: This is the first I've heard that Dick Cheney has been confined to a wheelchair. The best they could come up with is that he hurt himself moving boxes? That is what we are supposed to believe? No way in hell that evil bastard handled his own move. With how little he has been in the spotlight and how few public appearances he has made lately, you do have to wonder how long the VPOTUS hasn't been able to walk.

And on that note we make the switch to the regulars over on MSNBC.

7:44: Chuck Todd reports on the transition and how smooth it has gone. A lot of credit for that goes to Obama and the people he has chosen for his staff, but that Bush has done his part cannot be denied. He could have made a mess of this but didn't. Contrast that with the exit of the Clintons. The stunt with pulling all the W keys off West Wing keyboards was small-time and childish. That is how they spent their final hours? I was dismissive of it at the time, as I was of all Bill Clintons missteps, but that was truly uncalled for.

8:03am: Amanda Cane reports from DC that she is on her way to the Mall, that the streets are packed with people doing the same, and that she is freezing. So far nothing I have seen or heard has made me regret my decision to not venture down there.

8:24: Colin Powell speaks to how important this day is to race relations in this country, noting that in twenty years minorities will be the new majority. This idea scares the hell out of some parts of white America, maybe even more so than the idea of a black man becoming President. I'm not sure where Powell was going with that, either, because the election of Obama isn't going to change the day to day lives of any one segment of the population, white or black. The election of John Kennedy didn't improve the lives of Irish-Catholics. What it did was prove that anything was possible—for anyone, regardless of ethnicity. That is what black America should be taking away from this day and these last few months. Regardless of race, anything is now possible.

8:29: We have an early contender for Best Line of the Day honors as Tom Brokaw says, “I'm thinking back about the long road I've traveled, and about all the bigots and the rednecks I've met along the way. To them I say TAKE THIS!” The last part he says with a clenched fist, and it is pretty clear that “TAKE THIS” was not his first choice of words. Ah, Tom. Professional till the end.

8:30: Brokaw is immediately called away, allegedly to appear on the Today show. Was that NBC cutting his Mic before he said something really interesting?

9am: Time for a special inaugural breakfast:

Two slices of pumpernickel, lightly toasted

Chunky peanut butter (because salmonella be damned)

Red Raspberry jam

Combine and enjoy.

9:50: The Obamas leave church and head towards the White House and their destiny. Carl Bernstein (or, Woodward and Bernstein, the lesser) makes a convincing case that Obama is already a more pivotal figure in American politics than is John F. Kennedy. And not just at the time of his inauguration. Given everything that happened after, from Cuba to Alabama to Dallas, Bernstein argues that Obama today is more pivotal.

OK, perhaps “convincing” is too strong a word. Obama has never had to stare down a Nikita Khrushchev or a George Wallace. That will come in time, unfortunately, but hasn't happened yet. It is hard, but not impossible, to overstate Obama's impact on the culture of this nation. Did Carl Bernstein just pull it off?

9:54: The arrival! Michelle Obama brings with her a gift for Laura Bush. (Is that a tradition? It's classy, nonetheless.) Barack looks serious, as close to nervous as I have ever seen him. George cracks a joke to the future First Lady. These moments are when W is at his very best, courteous but utterly trite and meaningless conversations. Does he have any sense of the magnitude of this moment? He must. I think. Maybe.

9:58: I've been taking notes in pencil and this is the perfect moment to make the switch to pen. MSNBC, as if sensing the magnitude of my own moment, instantly cuts away to a video package and clip of U2's Beautiful Day. So fitting. We are a well oiled machine at this point.

10am: Keith Olbermann: “This day, in this city, is like a cross between Woodstock and a religious pilgrimage.” I chuckle before realizing that he is dead right and that it is the perfect comparison. Still so very glad I am on this couch and not on a pilgrimage to the portapotty.

10:08: We see Muhammad Ali taking his place on the viewing stand and I learn for the first time that he was in his late 20's when he was drafted. Is that right? It was a steady stream of 18 year old kids and then, randomly, Ali? Good for him for standing up for himself.

10:10: Magic Johnson. Still the healthiest HIV positive patient in the world. (I know, I know. We're all supposed to pretend there is nothing strange about that.)

10:14: David Axelrod stresses the importance of the hand off and lets us know that certain senior staff members will be in place in the west wing before the ceremony has even concluded. I've really come to like this guy a lot, despite the fact that Deval Patrick is all his fault.

10:22: We get a replay of the arrival from a different angle and can clearly see Laura Bush handing off Michelle Obama's gift to an aid without ever opening it. “Yes, thanks, I'll cherish this forever.”

10:28: Doris Kearns Goodwin is wicked smahht. 'nuff said.

10:36: We meet a woman who slept in a DC office building overnight just to be sure she could be on the Mall before dawn. We don't get her name because her boss might be watching and she doesn't want to get in trouble. Um, you just showed your face on TV...

10:38: Cops from all over the country, more than 2000 in total, have been brought to Washington to supplement security and provide crowd control. Now word yet on how good a day the nation's criminal element is having. Hasn't anyone seen Die Hard with a Vengeance?

10:41: Ted Kennedy appears on the platform and takes his seat under his own power. He looks very good. Not as good as Magic Johnson, but still very good.

10:43: The procession from the White House to the Capitol begins with Jill Biden and Dick Cheney's nurse. (Honestly, it has been eight years and I have no idea what the Vice President's wife name is. I wonder if she knows how long he has been in that wheelchair?)

10:45: The First Ladies. Rachel Maddow explains that their clothes are from an acclaimed Cuban-American designer whose name I am not quick enough to catch, and that they are beautiful. Seriously, even Rachel Maddow is fascinated by the fashion? WTF, Rachel? I thought you were better than that.

10:46: Joe Biden and the wheelchair take the long way down the handicap ramp. Poor Joe is being shown up by Mr. Potter. (God how I wish I was the first to make that comparison.)

10:48: George W. Bush, in the company of Barack Obama, leaves the White House for the final time as POTUS. There were many times over the course of these last eight years when it was hard to imagine this day ever coming to pass. I have a countdown clock on this very blog that I never thought would hit zero. And now it has.

10:52: Chris Matthews opines that Obama is today accepting a torch that was first passed from Franklin Roosevelt to John Kennedy, and now from Kennedy to Obama. Bill Clinton would obviously disagree.

10:58: We learn from Rachel Maddow that the Bush family plans to head from Washington to Waco, TX for a celebration with longtime supporters such as Karen Hughes and Karl Rove. I can think of no more fitting place for George Bush to retreat to on this day than back into the arms of Karl Rove. Two terms, America. You gave these people two terms.

11am: The motorcade arrives at the Capitol.

11:03: The Supreme Court files out onto the platform. It is impossible to watch this scene unfold and not be struck by what it means to live in this country. We are transferring power from one faction to another, from one leader who could not be more different from his successor, and it is all happening peacefully, orderly, and according to the Constitution. This will make my pinko-leftist-liberal friends cringe, but there really is something to the notion of “American Exceptionalism”.

11:08: We learn that Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is the cabinet member chosen to watch the show from an undisclosed location. I think this makes perfect sense when you think about it. If some catastrophic event occurs that forces the absentee cabinet member to ascend to the presidency, it probably also means that we have been attacked and the shit has completely hit the fan. I want somebody who can kick a little ass to takeover in that situation—not the Commerce or Treasury Secretaries, and certainly not the head of Housing and Urban Development or Health and Human Services. It should be the guy who best knows how to make war. Always.

11:11: Mondale, Quayle, Gore…it is a murderer’s row of guys who just weren’t quite good enough to win the top job. (Yes, I know that is unfair to Dan Quayle. He really wasn’t even good enough to run for the top job.)

Then: We get our first glimpse of former President George H.W. Bush. You can see he is having trouble walking, is carrying a cane, and for the first time I can ever remember, he is looking old. He looks much worse than he did at the GOP Convention a few months back.

Jimmy Carter looks good. So does wife Rosalynn—is that her real hair color? Good for her.

11:16: We get our first glimpse of the Clintons. Surprise, surprise; neither looks particularly happy. Actually, they both look quite dejected. They walk solemnly down the stairway towards the podium, and Bill only reaches out and takes her hand when he notices the cameras. The he flashes the smile. Hillary, always a moment behind in these moments, is late to realize their situation has changed and we get a full 15 seconds of a beaming Bill and a scouring Hill.

Bush the First appears and shares a warm embrace with Bill Clinton. I’ve never quite understood the strange rapport that developed between those two, but their mutual reaction to one another did make it look like there is genuine affection there. If the elder Bush can look past all the faults of the man who defeated him in 1992 then that speaks greatly to his character. Too bad he raised a bunch of douche bag sons…

11:22: The formal announcement of the Clintons and the crowd reaction is off the charts. Now it is all smiles. They are rock stars on this day, as they are everyday, but they are only the opening act rather than the headliner. Smile, wave, and move on.

11:32: Boos for George W. Bush. That is in ridiculously poor taste. You don’t like the guy, I don’t like the guy, and it is debatable whether his own father even likes the guy, but he is the President of the United States and he deserves to be shown a little respect. Silence is a perfectly acceptable reaction. Booing is not.

11:35: The formal announcement of the minority congressional leadership brings out fewer boos, mostly because the booing element of the crowd has no idea who they are. This is the downside of inclusion.

11:38: The majority leadership appears on stage as the energy begins to build. We are getting close and you can feel the excitement. I just realized I’ve been pacing around the room for an indeterminate amount of time.

Is that time right? Are we going to make noon?

Joe Biden appears. No tears yet. Vegas has taken down the proposition bet that Joe will break down on stage today because the action against was non-existent. God I love this guy. That hair is so terrible it is truly fantastic. I’ve really come to believe Biden could have taken Bush four years ago. But if he had would be inaugurating John McCain today? Or Mitt Romney? Maybe. Would we be out of Iraq, and would their be a staggering number of now shattered American families that were still intact? Possibly.

11:42: Barack Hussein Obama strolls out onto the podium alone. His is the image of the collected leader. No display of nerves, nothing to indicate he is shaken by the oath he is about to take. Nothing rattles this guy. I wonder if he plays poker?

We are so ridiculously late right now.

11:45: Senator Diane Feinstein of California is our Master of Ceremonies. She gives a few brief remarks and takes her swing at history. Sorry, Diane, you would have to drop in a trio of well placed f-bombs for anyone to remember what you said on this day.

Feinstein wraps up and turns the microphone over to Rick Warren. I know nothing about Warren other than that he is no friend to the gays. Oh, and he did run a presidential symposium on faith that was attended by both Obama and McCain last July, and may very well have been rigged in McCain’s favor. (Something about confidential questions that weren’t quite confidential. It was over the summer, after the primaries and before the conventions, when most sane people - myself included - stopped paying close attention.)

Blah, blah, Jesus, blah, blah, America. That is more or less the gist.

11:53: Aretha Franklin performs the National Anthem. The anthem was necessary. Rick Warren was not. We are never going to make noon.

11:57: Justice John Paul Stevens is introduced to swear in the new VP. Joe Biden is all smiles, no tears. Crap, I would have totally lost that bet.

And just like that, the era of Richard Bruce Cheney comes to an end. This is almost as exciting a moment as what is still to come. Without Cheney, the story of the Bush years is completely different. Imagine the puppet strings being held by a puppeteer who wasn't the very picture of executive power run amok. It's OK. Go ahead. Imagine it.

Ahhh...

12pm: The top of the hour comes and goes while the Yo Yo Ma all-stars perform on stage. What was the point of this?

12:04: Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John Roberts is out to swear Obama in. A crawl along the bottom of the screen informs me that the transition of power became official four minutes ago regardless of whether or not the oath has been taken.

Just in case you are curious, yes, I am still pacing around the room. I could justify a drink since we have crossed over to the afternoon but I do let good judgment once again get the better of me. For now.

Roberts completely botches the first stanza of the oath. Obama knew it, too. That was not smooth. So we witness another element of Bush's legacy: our Chief Justice has trouble reading the English language.

President Barack Hussein Obama, fortunately, has a masterful command of the English language, and he nails what is a fantastic speech. “These things are old. These things are true.” Beautiful. The text has already been reviewed by smarter people than myself—praised and analyzed and shredded and defended.

Watch it in its entirety here.

Read the often insane but always brilliant Pat Buchanan's take on it here.

Final thoughts still to come...

Super Bowl Thoughts

I'm rooting for Arizona but thinking Pittsburgh will probably come away with the win. Either scenario will work from my point of view. I have great affection for Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald and Anquin Boldin—the heart and sole of my recently vanquished 2008 fantasy football team. All three were studs, and seeing them display that this last month has been fun to watch. They are easy to support on any given Sunday and especially so given this particular opponent.

As for the Steelers, I still don't like them. But I've always said that while I don't like the Steelers, I don't respect the Colts, and for that reason and that reason alone I could live with another Super Bowl championship for western Pennsylvania.

Why? Because while it is without doubt that the team of this decade is the New England Patriots, there are many observers who would argue that the Indianapolis Colts are a close number two. A second championship for this Steelers team would shatter that myth forever. Anything that damages the undeserved stature of Dungy and Manning cannot be all bad.

So, go Cardinals...and hooray for silver linings, too.

Here's Hoping...

Here's hoping...

...that I do manage to someday soon put into words my feelings on the Inauguration and the beginnings of this new administration. They are many, but they are also jumbled, and to un-jumble the jumbled requires a level of concentration I have, as yet, been unable to muster.

...that the Boston Celtics do not sign Stephon Marbury. Sure, we need help at point guard, but Marbury? If you are so much of a clubhouse cancer that you can malcontent your way off the Knicks then you are no one I want to see playing for my team.

...that we have seen the last of the Bush family in the White House. Would this country really elect Jeb in 2012 or 2016? Never make the mistake of overestimating the intelligence of the American voter. This year was an anomaly—it is usually the lowest, not the highest, common denominator that wins out.

...that Jason (Captain .216) Varitek has played his last game for the Boston Red Sox. Maybe there were times when the conventional wisdom was right and I was wrong about this guy, and there probably is something to the notion that he managed pitchers as well as anybody this last decade. But even if all that is true, those days have come and gone. It is time to turn the page.

...that everything I took away from Charlie Wilson's War last night was spot on, because that movie was worthy of being called “wicked awesome”. Tom Hanks and Philip Seymour Hoffman were both outstanding, and even Julia Roberts failed to annoy me as she usually does. We really do always fuck up the end game, don't we?

And last but not least...

...that I am able to update this here page more frequently over the next few months than I have been over these last few.

On This Sunday In December

As I watch my beloved New England Patriots fight for their playoff lives on this final Sunday of the NFL regular season, I’m realizing that there are worse scenarios than this team not getting in. When Tom Brady went down in September, no one realistically expected this team would still be alive come Christmas. Sure, we all said we believed in them—that they were good enough to go 10-6, that they were good enough to make the playoffs—but no one really meant it. And even if we did, the thrashing Miami delivered in Foxboro during week 3 changed our minds.

But this team came together, and Matt Cassel proved he was better than I, for one, ever thought he was going to be. That is a point that should be remembered—Bill Belichick was right about Matt Cassel, and the rest of us were wrong. Dead wrong. Cassel is not only a suitable backup but he is about to become a well-paid starter somewhere. (Hopefully in the NFC, where he cannot come back to haunt us every season.)

That this team has a legitimate chance to finish 11-5 is better than we could have hoped for. It should be good enough to get into the playoffs…but if it isn’t, it is enough for the fan base to feel good about. The Indianapolis Colts would have folded like a house of cards if Peyton Manning ever went down in week 1. The New England Patriots not only survived the loss of Brady, the excelled without him. Both players and coaches alike deserve credit for that.

BOOM!

This clip just never gets old.

Done Deal?

With the New York Times reporting that Senator Clinton has decided to accept the position of Secretary of State, the time has come to say this:

I do believe in Obama's judgment, but I worry he is making a terrible mistake. The onus will be on Hillary to prove she can be trusted--and to prove that she can control Bill. This will be her job, not his and not theirs together, and the former President will need to understand that.

I meant what I wrote yesterday. Hillary Clinton may prove to be incredibly effective at the State Department, but only if she truly wants to be . She is qualified and known the world over. But to succeed at State she will need to work for, not with and certainly not against, her President.

Mrs. Clinton, it is your move.

The State of Obama's Cabinet

Much has been written in recent days about the choices Barack Obama has made for his Cabinet, and the mark he is beginning to make on Capitol Hill. Much has been written, but none of it has been written here. The reason for that is simple. I trust Obama in two ways:

First, that he knows more about these government agencies (and his plans for them) than I do.

Second, that his judgment is completely sound, and that his choices, in the end, will reflect that sound judgment.

Am I thrilled about the idea of Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State? No…but I can see the political wisdom in offering her the job. (Plus, I do think she would be good at it if she wants to be. And if she can be trusted—but old doubts do still linger.)

Am I infuriated to see Joe Lieberman keep his chairmanship in the senate? Absolutely…but, again, the politics do make some sense. The Democrats still have an outside shot at the magic (and filibuster-proof) number 60. Joe might yet prove to be useful…if he can be trusted. (For the record, I trust him far less than I trust Hillary Clinton. I don’t often say nice things about Mrs. Clinton, and with good reason, but I would never want the idea to float out there that I consider her the equivalent of John McCain’s campaign wingman.)

But all that aside, the point remains that no matter who Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. chooses to serve as Secretary of State or Attorney General, and no matter how he decides to manage the growing majority he has in congress, and despite whether or not I agree or disagree with a particular hire or appointment, in the end those choices will be far better for this country than any made by George W. Bush over these last eight years. This I wholeheartedly believe, and so should you.

Whether you voted for Barack Obama or not, deep down you know that there will be no reason to update this song over these next four years. The inmates will no longer be running the asylum, let alone the White House. And for that we should all be thankful.

How bad is the economy?

So bad that, for the first time in 14 seasons, the Boston Red Sox will not be raising ticket prices for the upcoming season.

Meanwhile, in Virginia...

My old friend Terry McAuliffe is apparently determined to make sure Virginia doesn't stay blue for very long. Nothing will give a state (or in this case, a Commonwealth) back to the GOP faster than this:

McAuliffe: Democrat for Governor in 2009.

Election Night

5pm: We are LIVE from Rockefeller Center in New York, Grant Park in Chicago, the Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix, AZ, and scenic Oak Square in Brighton. MSNBC has assembled an all-star cast of talking heads for what might turn out to be one of the most historic nights in the history of this nation. David Gregory, Chris Matthews, Rachel Maddow, Steve Sanders, Keith Olbermann, Eugene Robinson, Joe Scarborough, Nomar Garciaparra, Pat Buchanan, Chuck Todd, Norah O’Donnell, the Ghost of Christmas Past, and Lester Holt. I’m joined as always by Charlie the dog.

And…we’re off!

5:02: Chris Matthews makes the point that in this time of war without end what the American people want is hope. Rachel Maddow steals one of my lines, arguing that America not only needs an end to the era of George Bush but also “a period at the end of the sentence.”

Keith Olbermann brings the historical context. The first African slaves arrived at the Jamestown colony in 1619—and now an African-American man is on the verge of winning the presidency. (I regularly hear from Virginians at my job who want to argue about things like who really held the first Thanksgiving and where did America really start. Well, Virginia, you can have that one.)

5:17: Fun Fact: When I set up to blog from the living room I usually forego the couches and sit Indian-style on the floor. I feel more grounded that way, more wired in to what is happening. Yes, I do realize that makes no sense.

5:18: I think I would be even more wired in if I was in Grant Park. My dear god that is a lot of people.

5:24: When is it no longer too early to start drinking? Stay tuned!

5:37: Our first batch of exit polls! If we learned only one thing from the primary season it is that these are absolutely useless (I’m looking at you New Hampshire!) but we’ll play along anyway.

What is the most important issue to you?

62% say it is the economy, 10% Iraq, 9% healthcare and 9% terrorism. Interesting.

71% say they are worried about another terrorist attack—the same as in 2004. Um, ok, who the FUCK are the 29% who aren’t worried about another terrorist attack? Seriously? No worries? Are these people we should be allowing to vote? It makes you wonder.

5:44: Chuck Todd checks in with two fascinating lists. The first is the top ten states by number of college graduates. The second is the states with the fewest number of senior citizens. Only two states pop up on both lists: Virginia and Colorado. Wow. Say what you will about the black population of the Old Dominion, but Obama’s race is not the only reason many of these states are suddenly in play this time around.

5:55: I’m pacing the living room and warning Charlie to conserve his energy for what I expect to be a long night. He briefly looks up at me before going back to sleep on the couch. He’ll be fine.

6pm: Polls in eastern portions of Indiana and Kentucky have closed, but it will be another hour before they close statewide and we have the possibility of projections. Indiana will be close and we won’t know who wins there for hours, but Kentucky should be a quick call and win for McCain.

6:05: Chris Matthews fires off a passionate defense of American democracy—the turnout, the lines, the ratings, America is engaged in this election in ways we haven’t seen before. He’s right. Shame on anyone who didn’t cast a ballot yesterday. You have no right to complain for the next four years.

6:11: It is still too early to start drinking. But, as always, if Terry McAuliffe makes an appearance then all bets are off.

6:15: The gaggle of pundits engages in yet another discussion of race, the impact it has had on this race, and the historic moment we are possibly about to witness. I’ve made this point before, but the only reason Barack Obama is this close to victory is because he refused to make race the central theme of his campaign. He rose above it and looked all the better for it. Playing up race would have been a losing strategy. Hillary Clinton’s incessant waving of the bloody feminist shirt didn’t help her in the end. Had Obama chosen to wave the bloody shirt of the civil rights movement then this contest would be much different. Whether you like Obama or not, you have to admit that his has been a campaign unlike any we have seen before. He truly transcended identity politics, and every minority group in this country is better off because of it.

Yes we can. Yes YOU can.

6:26: Chris Matthews wants to know what kind of deals Obama cut with Ed Rendell to bring him into the fold. Word is that Pennsylvania is looking very blue this evening but I remain skeptical. I do, however, think Ed Rendell does deserve a position in any new Obama administration, perhaps as the new ambassador to Crapistan.

6:30: There are many great electoral maps online tonight—FiveThirtyEight and Politico, to name two—but I can’t imagine any of them will be as iconic as the white board Tim Russert used so effectively eight years ago. As great as this night may turn out to be, it would be better if Tim Russert was still with us.

6:35: The new ambassador to Crapistan appears for an interview…and begins by congratulating John McCain and Sarah Palin for the great campaign they waged in Pennsylvania. Is this guy for real? Even Hillary has shown more class these last few months. Rendell reports that Obama has solid leads in eastern locations but the western part of the state may be tough. Of course it will, Ed. These people elected Rick Santorum. In Pennsylvania, more so than in any other blue state, this election has been about the color of Obama’s skin. Just vote for the Republican and get it over with already.

6:54: The beautiful and talented Norah O’Donnell reports an anonymous GOP insider is admitting that North Carolina Senator Elizabeth Dole is likely to lose her seat tonight. If North Carolina is turning blue, McCain is in trouble.

7pm: Time for our first batch of results! The polls have finally closed in Indiana and Kentucky, as well as in Georgia, South Carolina, Vermont, and Virginia. John McCain is the winner in Kentucky while the hippies of Vermont hand Barack Obama his first electoral votes. Indiana, one of our prime battleground states this evening, is too close to call. Georgia, South Carolina, and Virginia (another major battleground state) are all “too early to call.”

OK, what does the phrase “too early to call” even mean? We have gone through an entire primary season and now a general election and still I do not know. Am I alone in this? If someone out there knows please clue me in.

7:13: If too early to call means you think you know but can’t announce because there is not enough information, and too close to call means that the information you have indicates the race is, um, too close to call, then you have to like what we are hearing about Virginia. I know what the polls all said, but as a lifelong Red Sox fan I’ve learned that nothing is won until it as actually won. I’m not buying any results from contested states until we have a large percentage of the vote actually in.

7:18: My buddy Siekman checks in to report Wolf Blitzer is talking to a hologram on CNN. The most shocking part is that he isn’t even hallucinating. CNN just raised the bar on election wackiness. And with that…

7:20: This is the moment when it is OK to start drinking. Thanks Wolf. This one is for you.

7:27: My boy Billy calls with a question: Do talking heads color coordinate their ties based on their political leanings? Do liberals wear blue, conservatives red, etc.? He has apparently been channel surfing for the last half hour and the evidence is mounting that they in fact do. I’ve been looking at Rachel Maddow with a bright red shirt on under her jacket all night, so I remain unconvinced. I leave it to you to make up your own mind.

7:30: More poll closings to report and the news is interesting. North Carolina is too close to call, but Ohio and West Virginia are both too early. Yes, West freakin’ Virginia is too early to call. I would have thought that state could have been called for the Republicans in 2007 and it wouldn’t have been too early.

7:34: OK, just to reiterate: I HATE too early to call. I just don’t know how to take it since I don’t know what it means. Is there no information? Some information? Questionable information? Does it mean anything that West Virginia hasn’t yet been called? I wish I knew.

7:40: Alright, I’m thinking “too early to call” simply means what saying nothing about a state used to mean. “The polls are closed in any state USA; we’ll let you know when the results are in.” Do we really need a confusing designation for that? I wish David Brinkley was still alive. He wouldn’t have put up with this shit.

7:46: John McCain is the winner in South Carolina. This is not a surprise to anyone who has ever studied a little something I like to call The Civil War.

7:48: General Stonewall Jackson checks in to remind me that in South Carolina it is known as the War of Northern Aggression, and that the South will rise again. God help us all.

7:56: I am ready for 8pm to get here. There are a slew of states closing and many of them should be called right away. This election is about to begin taking shape.

8pm: John McCain wins in Tennessee and Oklahoma, neither of which is a surprise. Barack Obama is the winner in Illinois, New Jersey, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Washington, DC, and…

HOLY FUCKING SHIT PENNSYLVANIA! Pennsylvania and her 21 electoral votes are in Obama’s column right at 8pm. WOW! I cannot tell you how stunned I am at this moment. But what is right is right—let me publically apologize, right now, to the good people of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. You have come through in a way I never would have imagined.

Florida and Missouri are too close to call, while Alabama and Mississippi are too early.

8:05: Our current total is 103 electoral votes for Barack Obama and 34 for John McCain.

Chris Matthews announces that McCain’s strategy has crashed and burned. He needed Pennsylvania and New Hampshire and he has neither. Joe Scarborough retorts that the GOP has not yet lost a single red state, so it is premature to say the strategy has “crashed and burned.” But it did just get a lot harder for McCain to win.

8:14: A quick search on the internet reveals the Associated Press has not yet called Pennsylvania or New Hampshire. Neither has CNN. What is MSNBC doing? I figured it would be Fox that would be pulling this shit.

8:19: No one has Pennsylvania or New Hampshire called yet. I may need to switch over to CNN. This is bullshit.

8:21: Deep Breaths. I really cannot take another Wolf Blitzer hologram fantasy so I’ll stick it out.

8:25: Why is uniformity in the calling of states important? Because if this election is close then the perception of who won what state will be huge. More than that, if Obama does win then the moment he clinches 270 will be historic…but if there are different vote totals then that moment may happen at different times on different networks. There will be no single moment to point to.

Also, I just apologized to Pennsylvania and will be bullshit if that was all for nothing.

8:30: The polls close in Arkansas but are too close to call. Alabama, meanwhile, has elected John McCain.

8:35: Georgia has also gone to McCain. (FYI: These are all MSNBC’s numbers. I’m hoping and praying all will work out in the end.)

8:38: The numbers coming in from Virginia are no longer encouraging. Obama is down by more than a hundred thousand votes. Granted, I don’t know which regions have come in and which haven’t, but I am at this moment officially worried.

8:53: The AP finally calls Pennsylvania for the Democrats. Whew. Almost an hour after MSNBC, but better late than never.

9pm: John McCain is the winner in Kansas, North Dakota, and Wyoming. Barack Obama has taken New York, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Rhode Island. Texas, Colorado, Louisiana, New Mexico, Nebraska, and South Dakota are all too close.

Meanwhile in Arizona, home state of John McCain, the race is too close to call. Wow.

9:11: McCain wins in Arkansas. Our new total is Obama 175, McCain 76.

9:22: OHIO! Barack Obama has won the state of Ohio! Pennsylvania right off the bat was a shock, but Ohio being called inside of two hours after the polls closed there shows where this race is headed. This just might be the dagger that kills the McCain campaign. Ohio was the state that gave George W. Bush his undeserved second term. Without those 20 electoral votes it is hard to imagine a scenario in which McCain can reach 270.

(Can this really be happening?)

9:30: Obama wins New Mexico. 200-85

9:38: McCain finally wins West Virginia. 200-90

9:55: McCain wins Texas. 200-124

Texas is a huge state and a 34 vote pickup changes the way these totals look on paper, but Texas is one of the reddest states in this country and was never in any doubt. There are still votes out there for McCain, but there just aren’t enough to put him over the top.

10pm: Obama wins Iowa, McCain takes Utah. 207-129

10:09: Mississippi goes to McCain. 207-135

10:18: The scene in Grant Park is simply amazing. There are estimates of possibly more than a million people in and around the park tonight and from these live look-ins I'm getting the sense that those estimates might be light. With every moment that passes the sense that something monumental is about to happen grows.

10:24: 11pm might be the moment. Quick calls in California, Oregon, and Washington will put Obama over the top and we will have our next President of the United States.

(Is this really about to happen?)

10:37: John McCain wins South Dakota. 207-138

That Arizona is still too close to call has to hurt McCain. I can’t say I’m happy to see that…but if Mitt Romney were the nominee and Massachusetts was still in play then I would be dancing in the streets. Or at least smiling while I sat on the couch. One of the two.

10:45: Chuck Todd: “If Tim Russert was writing on the white board tonight it would read Bush-Bush-Bush.” This election is a referendum not only on the Republican Party as a whole but also on our current President. That he is not the least popular man in America is true only because Vice President Cheney holds that distinction.

10:52: McCain picked up another four electoral votes at some point that I missed. 207-142.

10:55: The red state/blue state map that we have grown so accustomed to seeing these last eight years is going to look much, much different come tomorrow morning.

(Oh my god…is this really about to happen?)

11pm: The western states come in for Barack Obama and he becomes our President-elect. This is a moment in time of which you cannot say enough—this is history, a moment many Americans never believed they would live to see. We are all lucky to have been alive to see this.

Here’s to Barack Hussein Obama, Jr., the 44^th President of the United States. You were the best choice. All of America should be proud of that. All of us. There is something beautiful about this man being selected to lead us all. A black son of a single mother with an exotic name is about to become leader of the free world—and the American voter is the reason why.

11:20: John McCain concedes in the classiest way imaginable. He not only congratulates Obama but vows to support him in any way he can—and the way he delivers the speech makes me want to believe him. I’m not sure I do…but I want to.

Sarah Palin looks uncomfortable and for good reason. This may very well be the last night she will ever spend on the national stage. Talk of Palin in 2012 is nonsense. She was electoral poison to this ticket. She will be no better in four years.

11:29: There is a party outside the White House. My buddy Josh calls to report the same from the Roxbury section of Boston.

11:36: Virginia, Colorado, Florida, and Nevada, each one a so-called “swing state”, have all gone to Obama.

11:45: David Gregory lets us know that President-Elect Obama’s motorcade is now enroute to Grant Park. This is the first mention I’ve heard of the title Obama will carry until Inauguration Day, January 20^th 2009.

11:57: The next President of the United States appears onstage in Grant Park with his wife, Michelle, and their two daughters, Malia and Sasha. This is our new First Family. In my lifetime. In my grandmother’s lifetime. This is equality.

I’m signing off to enjoy every minute of this speech. Here is a link for anyone who might have missed it.

Yes we can?

YES WE DID!

The Moment

11pm: The western states come in for Barack Obama and he becomes our President-elect. This is a moment in time of which you cannot say enough—this is history, a moment many Americans never believed they would live to see. We are all lucky to have witnessed it.

After all the talk of Florida and Virginia and Pennsylvania and Missouri, it was once again Ohio that put a president in office. I’ve been surprised a few times tonight, but none more so than when Ohio went blue.

Here’s to Barack Hussein Obama, Jr., the 44th President of these United States. You were the best choice. All of America should be proud of that. All of us. There is something beautiful about this man being selected to lead us all. A black son of a single mother with an exotic name is about to become leader of the free world—and the American voter is the reason why.

2012?

Is this a visit from the Ghost of GOP Future?

Where's The Beef?

I just finished the world's greatest steak dinner. A day such as this deserves a meal such as that, and the early seating was necessitated by the rapidly fading daylight in my backyard. As anyone who has ever grilled by flashlight will tell you, natural light is the only way to go.

But you don't want to read about my early-bird special and, truth be told, the only reason I bring it up is because it reminded me of this ages old adage:

Radicals eat granola while liberals dine on chicken.

Moderates eat beef while conservatives feast on fish.

If food is scarce there is nary a worry, for Dick Cheney and the neo-cons will chew on your children.

Oh, stop, I never claimed to be a poet. Can you tell I'm antsy for the polls to start closing?