The Daily Parker

I've had a lot of Champagne, more than a lot of pizza, and way too much of this election season. But we won. And even Parker knows how happy I am.

By "we" I mean every American who thinks losing 25% of his retirement savings happened because the governing party made out like bandits. By "we" I mean every American who thinks having a competent President is better than having one who doesn't waver in the face of insurmountable evidence. By "we" I mean every American who thinks.

American Airlines has a $200 fare to Dublin next weekend, which I'm sorely tempted to take, just to be in a foreign capital and exclaim loudly that we Americans aren't stupid. We Americans aren't ignorant. We Americans know, in our hearts and minds, that we're part of the world. We're connected. We're all in this together. We need each other.

And we've elected someone who demonstrates that. Who shows us clearly, unequivocably, that it's important. That the United States isn't an insular, 19th-century Empire, blundering around the world with more power than sense, with more arms than heads. That the United States can pull together, that a majority of us, a significant majority of us, can agree: we're part of the world, and it's important our President reflects this.

President Obama will make mistakes, he'll adovcate policies I oppose, he'll annoy our closest allies. I don't think that can be helped, given the reality of the world. But I can scarcely imagine a moment in the next four or eight years when I'll doubt his ability, or his competence, or his humanity. And even those allies he annoys, those policies I oppose, those mistakes that make me cringe, even then, I'll know it's a reasonable disagreement between people who think, between people who balance the interests of some against others, between different parts of the government.

Because what President Obama will bring is that: government. Bush sought to rule; Obama understands that a republic can't be ruled, only governed, and then only by the consent of the governed.

We won. You won. Everyone, even those who voted against Obama, won.

We won. We f**king won.

You know, 100 years for the Cubs vs. 232 years for America? Fair trade, I think.

My friend Gina is yelling "it's not for real yet!" Well, I'll wager money it'll be real within the hour via live feed from Phoenix. And we don't even know North Carolina and Indiana yet.

Ever notice, when the country really needs someone, they elect a President from Illinois?

Update, 10:19 CT: Not a dry eye in the house as McCain concedes. It's over.

"The Pennsylvania Polka."

MSNBC calls it. More as the situation warrants...

I'm heading up to the Rogers Park neighborhood to watch the returns come in with some friends. Rogers Park has an old-leftie vibe to it (in parts). I expect the place I'm heading, the Morse Theater, will have a friendly crowd. (I hope they have food, too, because I'll be starving.)

Polls already closed in Indiana and Kentucky; several more states hit in half an hour. I'm always excited on election day, but never quite like this.

Polls close in Indiana and Kentucky in a little more than three hours. Big news starts to come at 6pm CT with Florida, Georgia, and Virginia; and at 7pm CT with Illinois, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. I'll also be watching the Minnesota and New York results closely when they come in at 8pm CT: New York because it's kind of big (lots of blue Electoral Collegians) and Minnesota because I'm supporting Al Franken against Hofstra alumnus Norm Coleman.[1]

TPM Media has a cool interactive map showing the rest of the poll-closing times. (The Daily Parker just has that silly countdown in the upper-right corner.)

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[1] At Hofstra, I researched an event in which Coleman played role. He nearly got expelled in 1970 for taking over the University Club in the wake of the Kent State shootings. When asked about the event, WRHU-FM General Manager Jeff Kraus looked up at his toothpick sculpture[2] thoughtfully and mused, "Norm Coleman...Norm Coleman...*sigh* Norm Coleman would be the head of any organization that would get him laid.

[2] Jeff would take the toothpicks out of his sandwiches and shoot them through a straw at the false ceiling. By the time I graduated the sculpture had grown to several hundred toothpicks.

The Chicago Breaking News consortium reports that people really, really want to see the Obama rally tonight:

Twelve hours before the gates were to open, about 30 people, mostly college students, were forming a line about 8:30 a.m. on Congress Parkway for the Barack Obama Election Night rally.

chicagobreakingnews.com will have updates all day, so I don't have to.

It took me a few minutes to get through my 12-page sample ballot (Cook County has a bizarre judicial election scheme), but I've just finished voting in my sixth Presidential election. I'm 2-for-5 (or 3-for-5 depending on your interpretation of the late unpleasantness in 2000) so far; I'm thinking this will even the score.

I actually voted against two Democratic candidates, too. We have some real winners in local offices, and while they're sure to get re-elected despite my votes, perhaps a few votes against them might get them to reform.

OK, back to work. I need to get something done today before 7pm.

I should add, the weather in Chicago today couldn't be better for election day. It's 17°C and sunny; it may even hit the record (24°C) before Obama's rally tonight.

Via Prof. Krugman, a map showing the relative electoral importance of each state in the U.S. Krugman's headline was "The decadent left, in its enclaves on the coasts," and wryly observes it depends on your definition of "enclave:"

Well, this is it. Just the 64 million of us (my guess for today's election turnout). I haven't voted yet—one of the benefits of a home office in a big city is that I can vote after the morning rush—but I've got my sample ballot all ready to go.

Polls actually opened almost 8 hours ago in Dixville Notch, N.H., where, for the first time in my life, the Democratic candidate won 15-6.

More updates throughout the day. Bottom line: the next 15 hours, until polls close in California, will not be the most professionally productive of my life.

Go Bama!

Great comic this morning from Garry Trudeau:

Now if I can only get "One More Day" out of my head, I'll have better luck concentrating on my first day of a new project.