Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Forty-eight Novembers back, I sat through the Rathgar night, constantly hunting for AFN on swooshy AM. A year later came T.H.White’s hagiographic The Making of the President 1960; and I was confirmed in my addiction. So, excuse a quotation from the most-readable political book of all:
It was invisible, as always.
... at 8:30, several milllon had already voted across the country — in schools, libraries, churches, stores, post offices. These, too, were invisible, but it was certain that at this hour the vote was overwhelmingly Republican. On election day America is Republican until five or six in the evening. It is in the last few hours of the day that working people and their families vote, on their way home from work or after supper; it is then, at evening, that America goes Democratic if it goes Democratic at all. All of this is invisible, for it is the essence of the act that as it happens it is a mystery in which millions of people each fit one fragment of a total secret together, none of them knowing the shape of the whole.
What results from the fitting together of these secrets is, of course, the most awesome transfer of power in the world — the power to marshal and mobilize, the power to send men to kill or be killed, the power to tax and destroy, the power to create and the responsibility to do so, the power to guide and the responsibility to heal — all committed into the hands of one man. Heroes and philosophers, brave men and vile, have since Rome and Athens tried to make this particular manner of transfer of power work effectively; no people has succeeded at it better, or over a longer period of time, than the Americans. Yet as the transfer of this power takes place, there is nothing to be seen except an occasional line outside a church or a school, or a file of people fidgeting in the rain, waiting to enter the booths. No bands play on election day, no troops march, no guns are readied, no conspirators gather in secret headquarters. The noise and the blare, the bands and the screaming, the pageantry and the oratory of the long fall campaign, fade on election day. All the planning is over, all effort spent. Now the candidates must wait.
Posted by on Nov 04, 2008 @ 05:12 PMCan I put in a return without accidentally sending in a comment? I just wanted to make a new paragraph…
Posted by on Nov 04, 2008 @ 07:26 PMAlso, does the refreshing take a while? I put in 2 comments but they’re not showing up. Maybe I’m doing it wrong?
Posted by on Nov 04, 2008 @ 07:27 PMHi Eunice,
I am experiencing similar issues here in Phildaelphia, there is a frustratingly long delay before a post populates. I was a good 25 minute wait earlier today.Posted by on Nov 04, 2008 @ 10:14 PMThe Coverit system allows only 10 non-moderated posters. Until and unless someone updates / allows your post, it gets to sit in the ether, at least as far as the main audience knows.
Posted by on Nov 04, 2008 @ 10:58 PMStill not sure - hell !
Posted by on Nov 05, 2008 @ 01:14 AMmock - don’t see why not!
Posted by on Nov 05, 2008 @ 01:54 AMwhoops i mean mick
Posted by on Nov 05, 2008 @ 01:54 AMWelcome back to the smoking room. Please put your feet up by the fire with a good brandy and a Pratargas cigar.
I’m calling this one for Obama, with swings of up to 16% in the Indianapolis suburbs.
Game over, congratulations President-elect Obama.
Posted by on Nov 05, 2008 @ 02:00 AMAnd the networks calling Pa. for Obama. Game over.
America? Fuck yeah!
Posted by on Nov 05, 2008 @ 02:00 AMShould get a flurry of states in the next half hour.
Pennsylvania plumps for Obama!
It’s over.
Posted by on Nov 05, 2008 @ 02:01 AMVermont goes for Obama - pass the Ben & Jerry’s.
Kentucky goes for McCain - pass a nice bowl of pipe tobacco.
Tennessee goes for McCain - pass the Jack Daniels.
Massachussets goes for Obama - pass the Sam Adams and frappes.
Illinois goes for Obama - pass the Blues Brothers.
DC goes for Obama - pass the automatic weapons and gang tattoos!
Posted by on Nov 05, 2008 @ 02:04 AMLoving the figures at the minute! More than a quarter of the way to the magic number.
Posted by on Nov 05, 2008 @ 02:04 AMLive blogging didn’t work for me, Mick. I arrived late and tried to go back through the comments, but each time a new comment came in, there I was, being where I didn’t want to be.
Good try though.Posted by on Nov 05, 2008 @ 02:06 AMjoe - you can pause the auto-scroll, and then read your way down..
Posted by on Nov 05, 2008 @ 02:08 AMBloody hard work. I stopped looking at the news, and spent my time clearing people I would normally have cleared anyway.
Posted by on Nov 05, 2008 @ 02:10 AMMick - an idea for the next time would be an embedded java based IRC chatroom.
Posted by on Nov 05, 2008 @ 02:11 AMSwings in Indiana counties with more than 90% counted.
Blackford 15%
Cass 15%
Crawford 7%
Fayette 11%
Howard 12%
Jay 13%
Parke 9%
Pike 7%
Pulaski 10%
Steuben 11%
Sullivan 10%
Vigo 11%
Wells 9%Posted by on Nov 05, 2008 @ 02:13 AMBBC calling North Carolina Senate for Hagan - woo hoo! Good riddance to Liddy Dole the religion baiter!
Posted by on Nov 05, 2008 @ 02:15 AMDole made a real balls up with that one alright…
Posted by on Nov 05, 2008 @ 02:16 AMLooks like with 30% in FL, Obama’s keeping a lead, but still early. CNN projections so far are 77 Obama 34 McCain - very conservative vs BBCs 103-34.
Posted by on Nov 05, 2008 @ 02:21 AMEunice - Sky are even more conservative a 38-34!
PS - anyone know where I can watch the Daily Show online…
Posted by on Nov 05, 2008 @ 02:23 AMIf you get time, my take on what it means for politics closer to home in today’s Irish Times:
Posted by on Nov 05, 2008 @ 02:23 AMFlorida much better for McCain than other states - generally swings are much lower here than elsewhere and there are some rural North Fla. counties even showing swings to McCain, but enormous Orange County (Orlando) is showing a huge swing to Obama. We still don’t know whether South Florida is going to follow the Orlando pattern - if it does, the fat lady will sing late but loud for Obama in Florida, if they don’t, then McCain still has a chance.
Posted by on Nov 05, 2008 @ 02:23 AMArianna Huffington over at the Huffington post agrees with you, Mick! (I agree with both of you.)
Posted by on Nov 05, 2008 @ 02:26 AM
