Goodnight, and Good Luck

thanks for staying with us through this historic evening.

Platform, the new OU Website will be up and running very shortly to continue the discussion and to explore the long term ramifications of this result.

www.open.ac.uk/platform

PRESIDENT OBAMA

CNN project that California, Washington State and Oregon will vote for Obama – giving him 297 electoral votes.

He currently has 51% of the popular vote too.

Fox: Obama wins Virginia = Presidency

Fox have just given Virginia to Obama 50% to 49%; if this is accurate, it gives him 220 votes to 138;

Now, if you take a small leap, that California with 55 electorial votes will go to Obama, this gives him 275. Taking him through the magical 270 barrier and makes him the first African American president in US history.

Utah and Kansas to McCain, Iowa to Obama

Obama 206; McCain 89.

Virginia, North Carolina and Florida still in play.

To reiterate, for McCain to have any chance, he has to win them all.

And more.

CNN call New Mexico for Obama

this is big because now it effectively holes McCain under the waterline.

Scores are Obama 200; McCain 124. GOing to be some more calls in 5 mins.

These will decide it.

Cushion for Ambassador Bolton

Just watching John Bolton on BBC sat next to Simon Schama. I have rarely seen a man look so uncomfortable.

Maybe his seat is inadequate.

How McCain can win without Ohio

Only Lincoln has done it before so here’ his road map.

Win all the central states, including Idaho – gives him 160. He then has to win Colorado, New Mexico (which Fox have already called for Obama); Iowa, Missouri, Indiana, Virginia, North Carolina and Florida. But the most he can conceivably get is 266.

Consolation Prize

McCain picks up Louisiana according to CBS.

Other networks are going with Ohio to Obama now. Just as Sky’s multi-map breaks down.

Now the big call

Fox gives Ohio to Obama.

The most McCain can win now is 266 votes by winning every state George Bush carried in 2004.

Indiana and Virginia are still toss-ups.

minor history made on Fox- I’ve never seen Karl Rove look contrite before, but there he is. Almost Loveable.

Big call from FOX

UPDATE – they called Ohio for Obama but they have now uncalled it. Bad info from their local affiliate.

Sorry to get you all excited there.

New Mexico is Obama’s though.

IN the latest polls, Obama is ahead in Ohio and Florida, with just under half of Florida’s votes cast.

I’m going to stick my neck out and say that if McCain loses Florida, he loses the race.

Hello, Howdy, Hey Y’all – welcome to Platform’s US Election Blog

Hi,  my name is Guy Bailey and I would like to welcome you to Platform’s US Election Blog 2008.

Platform is The Open University’s new Social Networking website designed to reach out to the wider community inside and outside of the OU.

We plan to have a live interactive blog on election night covering each and every issue as and when it arrives from the colour of the candidates socks to their policies on increasing Venezualean tetchiness towards the US.

We have correspondents in many states across the US that will be updating us with the latest from West to East, and North to South, as well as two roving reporters who just so happened to have roamed into partisan bars in San Francisco and Atlanta to give us the skinny directly from the faithfull.

My good friend and colleague Jan Henderson will be keeping both eyes on the US and UK media’s take on the election and I’ll be making sure the whole thing runs as smoothly as a voting machine in Florida.

The US Election 2008 – as OU students see it…

We asked our panel to take the temperature of the country ahead of the Presidential Election on Nov 4th. Here are their findings….

We asked our panel three main questions:-

What are the three main issues you see as influencing the election most in your state?

The issues as ranked by importance by our respondents are:-

The Economy/Jobs 90.3%
Healthcare 55.9%
National Security/Wars 34.4%
Local Services 21.6%
Immigration 17.6%
Environmental Issues 13.2%
Candidates Issues 13.2%

Practically every respondent highlighted the economy and job security as the main factor in the election.

“When I first came to the US, It would cost the same amount of money to fill a couple of shopping baskets at my local Tesco Metro in London that I could fill a whole trolley in Shop Rite in New York… Income has not kept pace with prices, although gas/petrol prices have fallen back recently, pretty much everything else has gone up” – Chris in New York

“Other issues have some relevance but mostly are concerned about what can be done to fix the problems of the economy. A friend of mine who is Catholic and anti-abortion said: “Last time I voted with my conscience, this time I’m voting for my pocket (bank) book.” – Deann in Pennsylvania

“California is one of the worst hit states for repossessions and is home to a large number of hi-tech start-up companies. Unless the venture capital firms start spending again, a lot of them are going to stagnate or go under as they have concentrated on volume over profit”. – Richard in California

Healthcare is the second biggest factor identified by our survey with half of respondents mentioning it.

“My husband and I are still job hunting so we are paying for our own private medical cover which costs hundreds and hundreds of dollars each month, not having it could cost a great deal more however” – Deann in Pennsylvania

“The health care scenario in the USA would frighten most Brits to death. There is no provision for the aged in the USA, no transport, no home helps, no retirement homes, no illness screening and no mental health cover as insurance companies won’t touch it” - David in Georgia

National Security/the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were the next biggest issue identified, followed by local services/issues depending on where the respondent lived.
Chris in New York highlighted the importance of local issues on the news receiving far more prominence than national or international stories; Dave in Texas mentioned the importance of Christian values in a candidate to voters in his state;

Steve in Nevada; Andrew in Georgia and Elizabeth in Washington State both highlighted the importance of local environmental concerns in their respective states. As well as the water issue, a lot of voters are concerned with plans to use the local Yucca Mountain range as a store for nuclear waste. Water is a big issue in Georgia too. A severe drought in the past two years as lead to focus on a lake near Atlanta which provides drinking water but also a lot of water to a Florida Hydroelectric plant. Georgians naturally want more of “their” water but Senator Obama has pledged to Floridians that he will preserve this water flow.

Elizabeth points out that Washington State sees it self a bit removed from the mainstream US so environmental concerns have a far higher profile than say, in the mid-west. The mayor of Seattle, Greg Nichols, is nicknamed The Green Hornet because of his enthusiasm for the cause.

Tom in California sets out the mind-boggling complexity of the election process. His ballot paper includes the following elections: Presidential; US Congressional; California State Senate; California State Assembly; Los Gatos Town Council; School District; Superior Court of California Judicial; and the Community College Board of Trustees.

He also has the opportunity to vote on the following state-wide propositions:-
California Constitutional Amendment on Gay Marriage; proposition to approve funding for the extension of BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) system; proposition to approve funding for a high speed train system in California; Police & Law Enforcement Funding; Children’s Hospital Bond; Veteran’s Bond; Standards for confining farm animals; Non-violent drug offenders sentencing; Two Clean Energy Bills; Parental right to notification if their teenage daughter seeks an abortion; and Removing the right of politicians to redistrict electoral maps.

It’s a long way from an X in the correct box!

How do you see the presidential election going?

Barrack Obama – 20 (87%)
John McCain – 3 (13%)

The panel heavily thought that Barrack Obama will win the election.

Which candidate are you planning to support in the presidential election and why?

Respondents who declared their intentions to vote were as follows:-

Barrack Obama – 8

“The US needs to be seen to embrace a new approach on the world stage”
“Even getting this close to the election of a black/mixed race president is a significant milestone in American history…Our support for Obama is more for what he represents as the first black president in the white house rather than for the policies he stands for”.

“I support Barrack Obama because he can pull the minorities together and he appears to be a forthright and direct person who generates an air of self-control that is lacking in his opponent”.

John McCain – 2

“I believe that the economic solutions offered by very liberal democrats like Obama will inhibit economic growth and stifle innovation. McCain also has experience and has demonstrated that he can work across party lines”.

Not every respondent is eligible to vote and obviously some people would not declare their intentions.

The panel was made up of 23 men and women living and working in the USA who have previously studied with the OU. They are located all across America, from varying political backgrounds and of varying ages.

44 years of Presidential Politics…

The Open University’s Louis De La Foret reflects on his time covering previous US presidential elections.

“Covering the presidential political trail in America for me was a lot like being a rock and roll groupie, but without the distorted sense of adoration. We followed the candidates through the snow, rain and occasional sunshine hearing the same speech sometimes as many as six times a day. Then we all fought to get the news back first to our media masters in the big cities. The candidates always delivered the same heady mixture of vague promises, jingoistic exhortations and brassy music.

I’ve been through the campaign detritus of Hubert Humphrey in 1968, that unapproachable man of the people, John Glenn in 1984, an amiable astronaut and later senator, Michael Dukakis in 1988 who lost to George H W Bush, The optimist Ronald Reagan in 1980, who later gave career lessons to Arnold Schwarzenegger. Pity he skimped on the acting.

The original Mr Potatoe-head Dan Quayle in 1992. For our younger readers, Quayle was a prototype Sarah Palin, Edmund Muskie in 1968, Peanut farmer and environmental sage Jimmy Carter in 1976, Walter Mondale in 1984, later immortalised in The Simpsons as a laundry ship, 3rd person spokesman Bob Dole in 1996, Senator Gary Hart in 1988, before founding skirts anonymous, bless him, Gerald Ford in 1976 and Spiro Agnew in 1968, who I liked, even if he did call me a “nattering nabob of negativity.”

You may not recognise some of the names – the American electorate saw to that. Even I needed an aide memoire for some of those guys (re-live those magic years at www.4president.org).

The highlights of those presidential primaries and political conventions boil down to a precious few.

I covered the Republican National Convention in New Orleans in 1988 where George H W Bush, or Dubya’s Daddy, accepted the nomination.
Having worked in New Orleans for several years, I thought of a quaint angle for my piece and sought out a little backstreet voodoo store.
Sure enough, they were doing a roaring trade in Bush and Michael Dukakis voodoo dolls, for the more malevolent voters. An early sign of the outcome as Bush was out-selling Dukakis. We did a piece to camera at the grave of Marie Laveau, The Voodoo Queen’s grave, still attracting offerings since 1881. She’s still there, and just about, so is a Bush.

In 1979, Ronald Reagan was still Governor of California and exploring the idea of running for President. He came on tour to our state and I found myself moderating a television programme where reporters questioned him about his policies. This might seem outlandish to modern readers but there once was a time, even in America, where journalists actually questioned their would-be leaders.
The programme went well and afterwards I was talking with Reagan when I heard a familiar voice in the background of the studio – “I think he did well, do you think he did well?” An unmistakeable voice I couldn’t quite place. I’d heard it a hundred times before but wasn’t sure who it was. The woman who does the voice on the London Underground must feel the same way when she meets people for the first time.

After excusing myself from the Governor and soon-to-be President, I latched onto the voice and there in the flesh, extolling the virtues of the Republican’s Republican was George Bailey of Bedford Falls himself – the late, great, Jimmy Stewart, who was travelling with his old acting friend. It was quite a sight to see the man who symbolised small town, Democratic egalitarianism, giving his honeymoon money away, eulogising the man who would usher in a generation of Reaganomics. As unlikely as George Bailey campaigning for Old Man Potter to be elected to the senate.

Politics make strange bedfellows.

Of course, Nancy Reagan accompanied her sprightly husband. I asked her for an interview but she just said no. Only joking.

My last recollection is that every campaign produced a series of pin badges, or pins as we know them in the states. I have a large collection of pin badges from the campaign trail, most of which I acquired by trading among the media types at the political parties national conventions.

Ben Blank, head graphic designer at ABC News where I did some freelance work, remembered me one year and set me up with stock of about 50 ABC News pins. The most coveted pin though was the 1988 gold and black eagle from the prestigious CBS News.

It was a rare badge because that year the people who had the most them were the teenage kids of CBS executives, hired on as runners at the conventions. No matter what I offered them for their badges, they refused to yield, so extortionate where they in their demands. So I had cause to venture back to my friendly, neighbourhood voodoo shop…

The first results are in…

The first village in the USA, Dixville Notch in New Hampshire, has already declared it’s results.

Tiny Dixville, 1800ft, located between the White Mountain National Forest and the Canadian Border, is traditionally the first US town to declare it’s results and today is no exception.

Senator Barrack Obama received 15 votes to Senator John McCain’s 6. A resounding victory for Obama with 71.5% of the available vote.

“I’m not going to say I wasn’t surprised,” said Obama supporter Tanner Nelson Tillotson, whose name was drawn from a bowl to make him Dixville Notch’s first voter.

The results is not usually a reliable bellweather for the nation however, Dixville has only voted for a Democratic candidate once before, Hubert Humphrey in 1968, who was eventually defeated by Richard Nixon.

More hanging chads in Florida?

A nudist community on Florida’s west coast wants to establish the first clothing-optional polling site. The Caliente Resorts, located in Pasco County north of Tampa, has approached election officials about the idea. Nothing in state law would prohibit it, but the supervisor of elections says he is opposed to creating any new precincts before redistricting in 2010.

I guess you should be careful as to which lever you pull.

What to watch for tonight

Thanks to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution for this. (Times are GMT)

12 am — If Obama carries Virginia and Indiana, two staunchly Republican states in presidential voting, he can probably start measuring the drapes. But if McCain wins or is very close in Virginia, where Obama has had a solid lead in the polls, it could be evidence that the surveys are off base and Election 2008 is going to be much closer than expected.

12:30am — The prize now is Ohio, ground zero in the last presidential election and a must-win for McCain to stop an Obama landslide. But if Obama wins there, then takes North Carolina, that landslide could be in the making.

1am — For McCain, this could be the make-or-break hour. The largest chunk of electoral votes will be awarded, with the two biggest prizes being Florida and Pennsylvania. But elections watchers should pay close attention to Missouri, as well. It has voted for the winner in every presidential election since 1904, with the exception of 1956.

2am — If McCain has had successes in the early states, both camps will be watching the swing states of Colorado and New Mexico this hour. They are key in the Obama strategy. They will also be watching the returns from McCain’s home state of Arizona, where the polls have been tightening in recent days.

3am — The drama this hour will be in the swing states of Iowa and Nevada. But Montana, a Republican state that has been trending Democratic in state elections, could provide a surprise Obama victory and a measure of the party’s success in targeting the West.

4am — If the race is still in question, an expected sweep of the West Coast could wrap it up for Obama — or determine just how short he will fall.

What to watch for tonight – Updated

From The Guardian

Routes to victory

To win, John McCain and Barack Obama need at least 270 of the electoral college’s 538 votes. Each state has a fixed number of votes based on its population size.

Obama: The Democratic candidate’s poll lead in several of the states George Bush won in 2004 gives him greater opportunities to reach this figure. A win in Virginia, where polls close at midnight GMT, would suggest Obama is on course for victory in some previously Republican states. A win in two of the big three swing states of past election cycles – Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania – would all but guarantee him the White House.

McCain: The Republican candidate’s route to the Oval Office is much narrower. Among the states Bush won in 2004, at least six are leaning towards Obama and several others are toss-ups. In addition to the safe Republican states, McCain’s most likely victory will come if he can hold Florida, Ohio, North Carolina, Virginia and Missouri, and take Pennsylvania or some combination of New Hampshire, Iowa, New Mexico and Colorado.

Regardless of when one candidate reaches the magic 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency, the night contains enough subplots and intrigues to keep insomniac politicos occupied late into the night.
11pm GMT

Polls close in Kentucky and Indiana.

Kentucky is sure to hand McCain its eight electoral votes, but Obama has surged in the polls in Indiana (11 electoral votes) and threatens to be the first Democrat to win the state since Lyndon Johnson’s landslide defeat of Barry Goldwater in 1964. If Obama can overcome Indiana’s deep-seated conservatism, it indicates that economic concerns have outweighed cultural ones and Obama can expect a landslide victory.
Midnight GMT

Polls close in Florida, Georgia, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Vermont and Virginia.

Florida (27 electoral votes) was the site of the 2000 voting-counting fiasco in which the supreme court gave the state – and therefore the election – to Bush. It is a must-win for McCain but last-minute legal tussles and discrepancies in the voter rolls may delay results.

McCain remains popular among Florida’s military voters and the culturally conservative north of the state. Obama did not campaign here in the Democratic primary race, but nevertheless pulled ahead of McCain in mid-September when the US economy began tanking in earnest.

Georgia (15 electoral votes) is a usually staunch Republican state but threatened by Obama in this election. Propelled by unprecedented enthusiasm among the state’s black voters, Obama has pulled within striking distance. An Obama victory here would upend 40 years of conventional thinking about race in southern politics. Virginia (13 electoral votes), another state once part of the slave-owning confederacy, has not backed a Democrat since 1964, but demographic changes, especially in the northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC, have given Obama an advantage.

South Carolina (eight electoral votes) is safe for McCain and Vermont (three electoral votes) will back Obama. New Hampshire voters have a long-held fondness for McCain – he won the state’s Republican primary in 2000 and this year – but Obama made a surge in the polls mid-September and is likely to capture the state’s four electoral votes.
12.30am GMT

Polls close in North Carolina, Ohio and West Virginia.

If Obama wins Ohio (20 electoral votes) he has the election, but even if he takes only North Carolina (15 electoral votes), McCain’s options are seriously limited. Both are toss-up states where Obama maintained a slight lead in polling going into election day. West Virginia (five electoral votes) will go to McCain.

(One hurdle to a decisive result: Ohio has been the scene of bitter partisan legal wrangling over the voting process. If election officials, Democrats and Republicans can agree who is eligible to vote, where voting machines should be allocated, and which votes should be counted, expect a smooth night.
If the campaigns call out the lawyers, we may not see decisive results from Ohio tonight.)
1am GMT

Polls close in 18 states (plus Washington, DC) awarding a total of 205 electoral votes.

Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Washington, DC will likely go to Obama, giving him 113 electoral votes.

Alabama, Kansas, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas should give McCain their combined 81 electoral votes.

Missouri could go either way. Bush won the state twice – but so did Bill Clinton. If Obama wins the state’s 11 electoral votes, he can start popping champagne corks.
1.30am GMT

Arkansas will send its six electoral votes to McCain. Clinton’s home state voted for him twice but Democratic candidates since then – Al Gore, John Kerry and now Obama – have been a poor fit with the state’s rural and socially conservative mould.
2am GMT

Polls close in Minnesota, New York, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, Louisiana and Arizona.

Minnesota, New York, Rhode Island and Wisconsin should go to Obama, handing him 55 electoral votes. Colorado and New Mexico are leaning towards Obama, and he could pick up these two from the Republicans, for an additional 14 votes. Wyoming and Louisiana should give McCain another 12, although Obama has made late polling gains in Louisiana (nine electoral votes), which has one of the largest African American populations in the country.

Last week polls showed Obama gaining swiftly in Arizona, McCain’s home state. If Obama takes Arizona’s 10 electoral votes, McCain may want to leave politics for good. (The scenario occurred in 2000, when Gore lost Tennessee to Bush.)
3am GMT

Polls close in Idaho, Montana, Utah, Iowa, Nevada and North Dakota.

Idaho, Montana and Utah will send McCain 12 more electoral votes. Iowa should vote for Obama, giving him seven electoral votes. Obama could also take Nevada from the Republicans, for five more electoral votes. North Dakota (three electoral votes) has not voted for a Democrat since 1964, but if Obama is having a very good night he may take this too.
4am GMT

Polls close in California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington.

If you’re still up at this hour, you may watch the states above send their combined 77 votes for Obama, possibly putting him over the 270 needed to win the election.
5am GMT

Polls close in Alaska.
How it works

Television stations and the Associated Press, America’s leading news agency, are under tremendous pressure to call the results early. They base their predictions on incoming vote tallies, divining the results from precinct-by-precinct results, plus exit polling, and identifying trends where possible. The model works in states where one candidate wins by a sizeable margin, but in close races news organisations must wait until most of the precinct totals are in. Sometimes this can take a while.

News junkies will be watching to see which news network calls the election first. The television networks face a dilemma – they want to declare a winner early but have memories of the disputed Florida vote of 2000 and are fearful of calling it wrong. No editor or news executive wants a replay of the 1948 election, which ended with Harry Truman holding a copy of the Chicago Tribune that bore the banner headline “Dewey Defeats Truman”.

The Clock is ticking…

Voting booth closures

Two years is a long time in politics

From SurveyUSA

“Exactly two years ago, SurveyUSA completed interviews with 600 voters in every state (30,000 total interviews), asking them how they would vote in a 2008 Presidential Election between John McCain and Barack Obama. Based on those interviews, SurveyUSA was able to report that:

Two Years Ago...

In November 2006, Obama carried …
1. His home state of Illinois.
2. His birth state of Hawaii.
3. The District of Columbia.

In November 2006, Obama got 28 total electoral votes.

In November 2006, John McCain carried 48 states, and rolled up 510 electoral votes.

Welcome to San Fran…

We’ve had our first report live from our roving correspondent in San Francisco, Kath Davison.

Be advised, it contains this chap.

RB

Click on Kath’s Page on the right hand sidebar for regular updates

Welcome Back (from and to myself)

Back from work and now firmly planted in US Election HQ. I’m pulling an all-nighter myself tonight so It will be great if you can brew up some coffee; neck a red bull, finish off the halloween candy or settle down with a nice brewski to join us as the night/morning develops.

And we go live to Sunderland South…

A lot of our correspondents are expat brits living in the US (keep the envy down at the back). So we’re going to make you guys work a little.

What are the main differences for you between a US and UK General Election? (apart from a lack of Dimblebys).

Here, you would be very lucky (or unlucky) to get a visit from one candidates team, but according to our media, every US voter is getting three phone calls a night from both parties, along with personal calls, emails and gift baskets personally donated by Sarah Palin and Joe Biden themselves.

Would this kind of attention be enough to change your mind one way or another anyway?

My eyes!

Settled for a Go Ahead apple bake btw.

Flipping between the US networks – Fox, CNN, MSNBC – it’s so hard to keep track of all the stats and numbers they push across the screen. I’m getting on a bit now (35) but I’m a gamer so am used to keeping track of fast moving pixels and reacting to them but some of these are ridiculously small and fast.

Breaking out the glasses now.

Third Time Lucky

Whether Sen McCain or Sen Obama wins the election tonight, either will be the third consecutive left-handed president in the White House and also only the third sitting senator to be elected.

Voting tales

Did any of our US based correspondents go out and vote today? We’d love to hear your stories. Did it register your vote correctly? Did it count? How long did you have to wait?

Interesting angle from Fox News

Not “Who will be the next president?” or “Who can save America?” but this

Worst. Link. Ever.

on Sky News in the UK. They have just took two Obama and McCain DOLLS out and about on the streets to interview people and ask who the funniest candidate is.

Looking for footage now because you have to see it to believe it…

UPDATE – just for you Alison

Tim Robbins Disenfranchised?

Actor and Activist Tim Robbins relays the trouble he had voting in New York today.

Two points. One – if you are going to disenfranchise a voter, don’t pick one of the most outspoken actors in the world; Two – Tim, take a driving licence. If somebody asks for your ID, it’s not enough to point at your face and shout “Shawshank Redemption!”

First Polls Closing

in parts of Kentucky and Indiana.

The beginning of the end or the end of the beginning?

There’s a real buzz around the candidate

From Salon

“Among the many things Americans should celebrate today — the strength of our democracy, the chance to change the spiraling trajectory of our country, new leadership — here is one that may have slipped past your radar: Babeland is giving away free sex toys to people who vote.

That’s right: Free! Sex! Toys! Which could only mean one thing: I had to go there.

Babeland, for those who don’t yet know, is a fantastic New York-based sex store (formerly known as Toys in Babeland) designed to be woman-friendly. That means lots of pink, vibrators that look like jelly candy and a remarkable dearth of giant black leather anal rammers. It’s girlie, in a word, and because I am “girlie” (in a word) it is my favoritest sex store in the world, one of the only spots where I can pick up the anal beads and not feel an overpowering urge to wash my hands with lye.

I live less than two blocks away from the Brooklyn Babeland, where I arrived at 1:30 this afternoon to find the store empty except for a friendly saleswoman and an elderly couple of approximately 60, asking about double dildos.

“You want your free vibrator?” asked the woman, whose name turns out to be Mary Hoffer. She handed me a neatly wrapped gift bag with a silver bullet vibrator inside.

“How many of these have you given out today?” I asked.

Mary checked her clicker by the register — “46,” she said. Not bad for a Tuesday. They’d opened at noon.

“There’s been so much anxiety about this election,” says Babeland P.R. manager Pamela Doan, when I call her on the phone. “This is a fun and friendly way to celebrate, and it has a clever twist.”

That twist, in case you hadn’t guessed, has to do with the (ahem) bipartisan sex toys being handed out: For men, there is the Maverick (yes, that’s the product’s real name!), a rubbery blue penis sleeve designed for self-pleasuring and described on the Web site like this: “The cushy, soft elastomer sleeve fits snugly on virtually anyone, while nubby tendrils lining the inside stroke every inch of your cock.” (Retail value: $20.) For women, there is the silver bullet, a wire-and-battery-operated vibrator that I’ve never particularly been crazy about but that some women swear by. (Retail value: $13.) All you have to do is say that you voted, and you get one. If they run out, they’ll give you a rain check. How’s that for spreading the wealth?

“The response has been overwhelming,” says Doan. The Soho store opened at 11 a.m., and within one hour had given away 50 sex toys. “It’s like a party in there right now,” she said. Doan’s in box has been flooded with requests from other states (Babeland is located only in New York and Seattle). “People are sending me pictures of their ballots, asking if they can get free sex toys, too.”

Who can blame them? People like their sex toys! And by the way, in a sign of change, Babeland has yet to receive any blow-back or complaints about its giveaway, but has, instead, received generous national press alongside other chain stores handing out free stuff, like Starbucks and Krispy Kreme.

Back inside the store, Bon Jovi’s “I Would Die for You” is pumping through the speakers as a woman waltzes in, picks up her free vibrator and leaves. “How about that?” she asks as she passes, swinging the gift bag by her side. “What better way to bring in a new era?”

First Exit Polls

via Huffington Post – take these with a grain of salt for various reasons.

The states looking good for Obama:

Florida: 52 percent to 44 percent
Iowa: 52 percent to 48 percent
Missouri: 52 percent to 48 percent
North Carolina: 52 percent to 48 percent
New Hampshire: 57 percent to 43 percent
Nevada: 55 percent to 45 percent
Pennsylvania: 57 percent to 42 percent
Ohio: 54 percent to 45 percent
Wisconsin: 58 percent to 42 percent
Indiana: 52 percent to 48 percent
New Mexico: 56 percent to 43 percent
Minnesota: 60 percent to 39 percent
Michigan: 60 percent to 39 percent

The states where McCain is leading in exit polls:

Georgia: 51 percent to 47 percent
West Virginia: 45 percent to 55 percent

IN SUMMARY

According to my wife (from Atlanta, GA) – if Obama wins two of Virgina, Ohio and Florida, I can power down and come to bed. It’s Over.

If Georgia goes Democrat – it will be a landslide.

First big call of the evening

and it’s mine.

Tea or Red Bull.

I’m going with tea. The biscuit question is more vexed.

oh and CNN are projecting that Obama will win in Vermont, McCain will win in Kentucky and tomorrow will be a Wednesday.

“Here comes the masses”

Christopher Hitchens on the BBC on Grant Park gates opening for Obama rally.

With row after row of blue portaloos and hundreds of kids running up to the metal barriers, it looks more like the party in the park.

Hitchens also sticks the boot into Senator McCain again: “He has declined physically and mentally in the past year, surely you have noticed?” – possibly the elephant in the room, McCains age. It’s practically taboo on the US networks but I’m still surprised to hear it elsewhere.

I suspect we’ll be hearing it a lot more in the next couple of days though.

Classic Hitchens pt 2

on Sarah Palin – “This is a woman who believes in witches and can’t tell the President of France from Inspector Cleuseau”

More Exit polls

Have obama up 57 43 in Florida; 51-48 in Washington DC and down 49-51 in Indiana.

Sky News calls West Virgina for McCain

no surprises there. Claim Indiana, Ohio, Virginia, South Carolina and Georgia as too close to call.

Virgina, Indiana and Ohio expected to be toss ups but SC and GA were in McCain’s pocket.

UPDATE – MSNBC calling South Carolina for McCain.

East coast turning blue

CNN calling Illinois, New Jersey, Maine, Massachusettes, Conneticut, Delaware, Maryland and Washington DC for Obama; Oklahoma and Tennessee for McCain.

No surprises.

77-34 to Obama is the score on the door.

Big call from ITV

Given Pensylvania for Obama. This is one on McCain’s hitlist so a blow if true

UPDATE – NBC and ABC back this up now.

Excitement building

this is my favourite part of election night – when results start coming in, and predictions keep stacking up too.

Half Time Score

Obama 103 McCain 34

Obama projected (must state that) to win in Conneticutt, Pensylvania, Massachusettes, Illinois, Delaware, New Jersey, Maine, Washington DC, Delaware, Maryland, Vermont.

and as I am typing, CNN are giving New Hampshire to Obama. ONly 4 votes but symbolically, McCain’s last hope in the North East.

McCain has Oklahoma, Kentucky, Tennessee, South Carolina.

If accurate, is hard to see a path to victory for the Straight Talk Express.

UPDATE – Fox call Georgia, Alabahma and Arkansas for McCain. Still Alive.

Fox Anchor winds up his analyst

“What’s that your standing in front of, Brett?”

“That’s my board, Bill”.

“A board? Is there any wood in that thing?”

“Erm, nope Bill – it’s all make-believe”

Big Gains projected for Obama

CNN projecting that Obama will win Rhode Island, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and New York

McCain will win North Dakota and Wyoming.

72 more votes for Obama

6 for McCain

Obama 174 McCain 49