Election Night

It’s now after four in the morning, and I’m in bed watching live election coverage on CNN.com. (The BBC’s own coverage is open in another tab, but it’s not quite as interesting to watch.) The curtains are drawn, and behind the big window I can see a mini-skyline of London… the local rooftops of Bayswater, with piped chimney stacks, domes, and the treetops of Hyde Park. Other than myself, only Janis is awake; unable to sleep, she’s on her own laptop in bed, too.

My absentee ballot was faxed in on Monday. I won’t reveal any of my votes here, but I will say that I was quite torn for different reasons on both candidates. CNN has just announced that Obama is the projected winner. I’ve gotten so used to all the election coverage, both in the US and here as well (it’s amazing how much of it goes on here; British people are just as informed about it as Americans are) that it’s strange to think the momentum has finally reached a climax and, very soon, a conclusion and a new beginning. I wonder what George Bush is doing right now… Is he on a sofa, watching all this, too? Are any of his things in boxes already?

Ugh. CNN’s already hyping the race side of all this… There’s singing, sobbing, Jesse Jackson, and talk about Martin Luther King… It’s all too sickly sweet. Not to diminish the significance of black history in the making, but I’m finding it all too overdone.

…And now McCain has made his concession speech, and music reminiscent of a 90s action movie is playing as he, Palin and both their spouses exit the stage, forcing smiles… So… that’s it? People are still voting in some states, but really their votes are a formality at this point. The commentary continues, and presumably Obama will be making a speech very soon. I’d like to watch that speech, and then try to sleep… I’m a little tired of watching coverage now, though.

Darn… They’ve just said that it’ll be another 25 minutes before Obama takes the stage.

I seem to be zoning out a bit… I’m watching a bit of both the supporters’ parties. They’ve just shown a few seconds of Oprah at Obama’s party and there was some woman screaming after her (brings to mind a certain SNL skit!). Maybe I’ll wait it out, if I don’t fall asleep meanwhile.

He’s approaching the stage now… Well, that wasn’t so bad a wait. Not likely to be any surprises rhetoric-wise, but I’m curious to hear it all out anyway. Lots of thanks and pledges of hope, I imagine.

…Wow, amazing speech. Really, really amazing. Sort of makes me less apologetic to be an American abroad, too.

Well, on that note, I think I’m going to quit typing and go to bed in a couple minutes.