By Nate Jones

When the networks called it for Barack, the newsroom stopped. After Lewinsky, after Gore, after Florida, after 9/11 and Afghanistan and Enron and Iraq and Kerry and Swift Boats and Katrina and the meltdown: finally. After flag pins and the surge and Wright and Hillary and RFK and celebrities and Palin and Bristol and lipstick and Ayers and the rest of the goddamn culture wars: finally.

A group of us went straight outside to party, to wander the streets, to do something. We headed to Union Square as if by instinct. There was a small crowd getting bigger, and we joined it. O-BAM-A! O-BAM-A! If I were a Republican, I’d be scared, all these crowds marching and chanting. Somebody, maybe a McCain supporter, came back with U-S-A, as if the two were mutually exclusive. We took it back. U-S-A! U-S-A! Then again: YES-WE-CAN! YES-WE-CAN! Why not “Yes we did”, I asked. We started chanting that, and it spread through the crowd. YES-WE-DID! YES-WE-DID! We jumped and laughed and high-fived.

The crowd was approaching critical mass, but there was still a paper to put out so we went back to the office. McCain was on when we got there, conceding; this was really happening. He had said he would rather lose an election than a war and he got his wish. He was graceful in defeat and you could tell that when he talked about being more patriotic than anyone else it wasn’t just an act. He said he was grateful for the chance to serve his country and then he said something that surprised me: “Barack Obama is my president.” No recounts: finally.

We all got back to work or went home, but there are still people shouting from the streets outside. Barack Obama is my president.

“Is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is still alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy—tonight is your answer.”

Minutes ago, Barack Obama completed his twenty minute long acceptance speech. Echoing a message of hope and change, Obama accepted the nomination with warmth and grace.

This change has been “a long time coming,” Obama said. “But tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, in this defining moment, change is coming to America.”

Obama thanked his opponents, Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Pailin, and his family—noting that his young daughters had earned the new puppy that would be accompanying them to the White House in January.

Tags: 2008, Election '08, November 4

The music Barack is playing is terrible. Try this instead:

A new hope, indeed.

CNN projects the Democrats wil take control of the House of Representatives, giving them complete control of both the House and Senate. This is in addition to Barack Obama winning the Presidency earlier in the evening.

The current projects have 237 reps for the Democrats and 152 for the Republicans, leaving 45 seats still undecided

McCain conceded the presidency. Obama has prevailed. When running out of WSN offices on E. 12th street just after the end had been reached, everyone I saw on the street was a friend. High-fives were doled out a dime a dozen, and accidently catching someone’s eye resulted not in a dirty look, but in a toothy smile. New Yorkers are screaming in the streets as I write this, and will.i.am’s “Yes We Can” is playing on my laptop. Sweating with the masses at Union Square, jumping to the beat of hundreds of people chanting “Yes we can,” another WSN staffer looked at me and said, “Let’s shout ‘Yes we did.’” So we did. And everyone joined in.

I studied abroad in London last fall, and traveled around Europe in the four months I was there. I was hesitant to say I was an American because of the negative opinion many non-Americans have of the country. I lied and said I was Canadian occasionally, just to avoid the USA topic. I couldn’t have cared less about solidarity; to ally myself with Americans was to ally myself with a political system I didn’t believe in. I would have stood alone before I’d have stood with my country.

Today, tonight, after running in the streets with the people who have waited years for a leader they can believe in, I am so truly proud to say I’m an American. You did good.

As of 11:30 p.m. EDT, the Senate breakdown gives the Democratic party a majority with 56 of the 100 seats. The Republicans currently have 40 seats.

In order for the Democrats to reach the “magic” number of 60, they will need to win the next 4 seats.

What a graceful way to bow out. The most telling moment of the speech had to be the pain on John McCain’s face when the crowd started booing Obama. As much as he’s been vilified over the past few months he really is the honorable man he makes himself out to be. Such a shame that he has gone back on so much of what he really stands for to try to win this election.

McCain is over.
Merkley, Franken, Begich — Go!
Blue for 59!

MSNBC:
Win win win! win win win win!
Win win win … we think!

CNN projects Barack Obama the Winner of the 2008 Presidential Election.

Following the announcement of Virginia going to Obama, CNN projected Barack Obama to be the winner of the 2008 Presidential Election, coinciding with the closure of west coast polls. California, Oregon, Nevada, and Washington all went to Obama, as well as Florida.

CNN currently has the electoral count with Obama at 338 (well above the 270 threshold) and McCain at 155, with 6 states still not called.

McCain shortly followed the announcement with a concession speech, standing alongside his wife and Vice Presidential Nominee Sarah Palin and her husband Todd.