Live Blogging for Election Day

(Note that all times are Central Time)

President- elect Barack Obama.

10:00 pm - It's official. Awesome. He is the 44th president! In my lifetime. We are who we claim to be. I will just enjoy the evening and be back tomorrow. Say a prayer that we and he will be strengthened and turned into an even greater nation. Amazing. Just amazing.

9:53 pm - On Yahoo! News it looks like AP has given Virginia to Obama. Yes, Barack, there is a Virginia. This IS history. For the 1st time since 1964, Virginia goes blue. Amazing! Just plain amazing.

9:45 pm - Indecision 2008 was a good break but not up to their high standards. Nothing much has happened in the 45 minutes so far. The big news coming up at the top of the hour will be California with 55 votes and Washington with 11. If those go as expected, Obama will be over the top.

Two skinny guys from Illinois will have made a difference. Abe Lincoln and Barack Obama. So says the professor from Harvard Law School on Indecision 2008.

I will be staying up beyond my normal bed time tonight. This is history!

9:22 pm - I just noticed this header on CBS: At this point we will need a miracle. That's a comment from a McCain aide. I would agree. As I have said on a previous post, it is closer than some had thought, but it will be Obama by a significant amount.

9:17 pm - Here's some interesting breaking news from NBC- South Dakota voters have rejected the abortion ban; Colorado rejects defining fertilization as the start of life. It would appear that the pro-life forces may not be as strong as they think they are. Now we see what happens in California with their anti-gay marriage referendum.

9:00 pm - Indecision 2008. Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. Aaah. A break from the intensity. Meanwhile, Iowa to Obama. Texas and Utah to McCain. Nothing surprising in any of that.

8:53 pm - Not much will happen in the next 7 minutes. Another set of closings at 9:00 pm. But I will be looking online- but on TV- it will be time to watch Comedy Central.

8:45 pm - A nation as good as its promise. So says Tavis Smiley on NBC. That's his take on what the election of Obama says about the USA. People have gotten involved. New people have a new faith in the American electoral process. Record numbers of voters. Things are changing in our country. What an election. What an election!

BTW, at this point CBS has the electoral vote at
Obama 199
McCain 124.

CNN is being more conservative in their awards so far.
Obama 194
McCain 69

8:30 pm - BIG NEWS- NBC gives Ohio to Obama.The first surprise of the evening.

Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Missouri- too close to call yet.

New Mexico to Obama.

Obama 200
McCain 85

Things are moving now.

8:05 pm - Chris Matthews tells us that it will be well after 11:00 eastern time. We have a way to go.
At this point:
Obama 175
McCain 70

Democrats have a shot at the anti-filibuster 60 seats in the Senate.

8:00 pm - Midwest state closings.
Arizona - Too close!!
Colorado - Too early to call.
Kansas - McCain
Louisiana - Too early to call.
Michigan - Obama
Minnesota - Obama
Nebraska - Too early to call.
New Mexico - Too early to call
New York - Obama
North Dakota - McCain (1st Tossup to go)
Rhode Island - Obama
South Dakota - Too early to call.
Texas - Too early to call.
Wisconsin - Obama
Wyoming - McCain

Tom Delay reminds us that Nancy Pelosi may be the most power Speaker of the House in a generation. There will be an almost unbeatable majority. He even feels Obama, if elected, will be under her power if he wants to get done what he says he wants.

7:45 pm - MSNBC talking about the fact that McCain can't lose any of the toss-ups- but at this point he hasn't lost any of them. Obama has to flip a red state to blue. McCain has not been able to flip a blue state red. It is still close. Next closings in 11 minutes. Will it be a long night- again?

7:37 pm - Georgia with 15 votes to McCain. It had been leaning. But no big surprise.

Why so big in Pennsylvania? Palin- Hillary women going BIG for Obama. No carry over for women. That will be a theme I think. The attempt to make a "women's vote" to capture Hillary voters missed the fact that women supporting a centrist/liberal like Hillary would not, absolutely not, so with a ultra conservative.

What were they thinking? What were they thinking?

7:35 pm - A McCain person still saying they are going to win. Popular vote- Obama +58,000.

Alabama for McCain. Another No Surprise. 103 - 43 electoral votes now.

7:30 pm - North Carolina and Arkansas are closing. And NBC says both are too close to call. Virginia is too close also. All toss-ups and leaning to are still too close. In other words- no surprise.

But Elizabeth Dole has been projected to lose to Kay Hagen. First Senator to lose for not talking enough, said Chris Matthews. A big loss for the Republicans. And it is in North Carolina.

7:25 pm - Obama 103 electoral votes McCain 34.

Only in Florida, our own Banana Republic. Unusual ways to mark ballots. They sit and decide whether to accept some uncertain ballots. So far, though, no hanging chads- and Florida is too close to call.

7:15 pm - I am now settled in at the TV. No surprises so far. Pennsylvania is still a "Blue State." McCain's strategy didn't work. No reports yet on some of the poll data on how it has broken down. It will be interesting to see whether Obama made any inroads into the traditionally GOP sections of the state. As of now all is as expected. It is still early.

5:30 - 6:30 pm - I was in a meeting and out of touch. Then, the moment when I get in my car and turn on the radio. What is happening? The answer at the moment- not much. Polls to be closing soon.

5:10 pm - McCain was still campaigning hard today. "We will take America in a new direction." Again and again and again- even the Republicans are running against themselves (or at least the Bush Republicans.)

5:00 pm - As I finished voting parts of some states were already closing. Listening to the radio news one woman- a McCain supporter- noted that the "older people are tending to vote for McCain. My response was- "Wrong!"

4:45 pm - Wow! What a feeling. It was truly a great experience to vote this time. It was probably even more exciting than my first vote when I felt very good voting for McGovern and against Nixon in 1972. (When I turned 18 the voting age was still 21.) This felt like history in the making. It is! and we would never have thought of this a year ago when everyone was sure it would by Hillary and Guiliani. A great moment.

4:30 pm - Got to the polls- and had to register. Thank goodness for a state that allows registration at the polls. Both my wife and I had "registered" when we got our new driver's license but never got to the official list. But no problem.

There was not a line thanks to a very efficient set-up and lots and lots of places to fill in the ballots.

I was # 1117 at 4:35. My wife had been 439 at 10:00 this morning.

7:35 am - One person at work commented about people standing on the corner waving flags and Obama signs. They also had signs that simply said "Go Vote!" Passion and excitement.

7:30 am - Colleagues are reporting long lines voting this morning. Most of them were there at least 20 minutes before polls opened and there were already lines. They all reported excitement. I experienced the same in discussions on the shuttle on the way to work. People are talking about it. A lot! I plan to vote after work tonight.

6:45 am - As I walked out of the apartment this morning the sun was rising here in the midwest. Voting was already happening. The process of democracy was at work. It is great to live in the United States!!!