Live Blogging the Election From NPR HQ

Clarice Feldman is spending the night at NPR headquarters, one of several nprbloggers.  Stay tuned for her coverage of the election returns.

I will be heading off to the NPR headquarters soon, but wanted to summarize my impressions and thoughts before I do so.

Indiana polls will close at 6 p.m. and I expect that there will be buzzing about exit polls soon after. I beg you again, don’t be duped by them. They told us we’d have President Gore and President Kerry and we did not. If you haven’t voted by the time the first polls close, turn off the radio and TV and go vote.

My friend Jeff Hobbs points to this as a perfect reminder of what I’m saying:
Jonah Goldberg  
[Quote] Criminey! [Jonah Goldberg]
I went out for a brief lunch with missus and I come back to discover things are going south? What the...? From what I'm hearing, Florida's an uphill climb right now and New Hampshire's a lost cause. Trying to nail things down.
11/02 02:34 PM [/quote]

Sounds scary doesn’t it?

It’s from 2004.

Go Vote.


There are scattered reports of double voting, intimidation by Black Panthers at the polls in Philadelphia and the removal of Republican poll watchers in certain precincts of the city of brotherly love. Apparently the police have dealt with the fellows in bowties carrying nightsticks outside the polling place and the poll watchers have been let back in. Since Mayor Nutter and  Governor Rendell were big backers of Hillary  Clinton and there is no sign that Obama is particularly magnanimous, one would think the inclination to assist the vote fixers in Philly  would have limited appeal to them.

Pennsylvania Congressman John Murtha seemed to be in big trouble yesterday and one hopes that results in his getting his comeuppance at the polls today.
In Milwaukee, the police unit charged with investigating election fraud came out with a report unsurprisingly noting  that same day registration compounded the opportunities for vote fraud. The unit was then notified that it was being disbanded. If I recall correctly the Wisconsin legislature has on repeatedly voted to do away with same day registration and to require voter identification at the polls only to have their bills vetoed by Governor Doyle. How much more of this will the good people of Wisconsin and elsewhere endure before heading to state capitols with sharpened pikes to demand reasonable controls on  the election process !

Clarice Feldman


 
Charlie brings to my attention this tidbit from US News' Pethokoukis    :
[quote]
just talked to one of my best Team McCain sources who told me that heading into today all the key battleground polls were moving hard and fast in their direction. The source, hardly a perma-optimist, thinks it will be a long night, but that McCain is going to win. So add this with the new Battleground poll (Obama +1.9 only) and the rising stock market...
[/quote]


  I'm now set up in the NPR offices with a pleasant group of merry bloggers. Facing me on the left is a tv set to MSNBC.In the middle is CNN . To my right is FNC. Behind me is a screen displaying a map of the US where NPR is noting reported trouble spots. At the moment no one is listening to the tvs.Why would they? Nothing's known yet. Ranger says by the way that on InTrade the Indiana results have shifted from yesterday to today--rather dramatically in McCain's favor. I am not certain what that means as I no longer consider it a very reliable indicator. HillBuzz , a website of Hillary Clinton supporters who are backing McCain/Palin report this: [quote]November 4, 2008 Word in Chicago is spreading: Obama loss is expected. Grant Park rally downgraded to "tens of thousands" instead of the million Obama promised[/quote] No inside info, sorry. And no one on the inside has any either, I'm sure. The way it works is you either take it on faith that the always wrong exit polls are right for the first time or you wait for the votes to actually be counted. This might be a good time to organize your sock drawer.
 
In case you missed it, the nets are calling VT for Obama and Kentucky and W Va for McCain. NPR projects that McCain wins OK and TN; Obama wins CT, DE, DC, IL, ME, MD, MA, NH, NJ & PA. As far as I can tell, I'm the only McCain/Palin backer here in this room of about 30 people..lots of cheers with each Obama EV. Rick Ballard notes that downstate Penn is still not in and others here note that ONLY NPR and MSNBC have called Penn for Obama. This may be a mistake. On FNC Barone said the Penn call was based on exit polls--This it seems to me is a significant mistake. Not a single Penn vote has been actually counted yet. The Ohio Sec of State is holding all results until every poll in Ohio is closed. Well, right after I reported on Barone's comments, FNC projects Penn for Obama.Excuse me while I eat some crow. NPR:All polls closed in Ohio . We should start getting returns. In case you missed it, Senator Collins won reelection in Maine. NPR projects:Mi,Wis,RI,NY and Minn for Obama. Wyoming and Nd Dakota for McCain Fox has called Georgia for McCain. Ark for McCain I'm told MSNBC indicates it'll be at leaast 2 more hours and advises everyone that this is a good time to call in for pizza. NPR has called Ok,Alabama,SCar and Tn for McCain and Ill for Obama. Fox just called Ohio for Obama. NPR called New Mexico for Obama. NPR is about to call Iowa for Obama. It really seems over to me--Calif and Oregon will certainly go to Obama. I took a break to tour the studio and return to find that Murtha was re-elected. Fox just called Virginia for Obama. I also see, NPR has now called the following states for McCain:Texas,La,Miss,Ut, and Ks. Good night all. Tomorrow's another day.
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