Drunkblogging Election Night

9:34PM Finally, I’m finished up with PJM Political and PJTV and can get back — if only briefly — to the drunkblogging.

Obama has won, McCain has (or will soon) conceded gracefully. I didn’t vote for either of them, but I think McCain would have prove slightly less bad for the country, if only very slightly.

That said, come January 20, Barack Obama will be my President, and I feel proud of a country strong enough to repudiate a stained history on race. Race aside — as it should be — I strongly disagree with most, if not all, of Obama’s platform. But we’re facing trying times. We need a strong leader, and I hope Obama proves to be that leader. So if you’re looking for a Kos-like “Screw ’em” moment, then look elsewhere.

Because I’m hoping for the best, and I’ll criticize the worst — and I hope we can all drink to that.

9:00PM iTunes just started playing Sinead O’Connor’s “I Am Stretched On Your Grave.” When that’s over, I plan to play the Sinatra album “In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning” from one side to the other and drink even more heavilier.

Also, be sure to tune in tomorrow to XM Radio’s POTUS 08 channel, or download the streaming version later on Pajamas Media — but Glenn, Jennifer, James, Ed and I just recorded some first rate talk radio.

8:28PM Put your money on Missouri going blue, or else it will lose its status as THE bellwether state. Now if you’ll excuse me, I really do have to go make some radio now.

8:20PM Another interruption, while I get ready to record a pre-post-election roundtable discussion with Glenn Reynolds, James Lileks, Jennifer Rubin, and Ed Driscoll for tomorrow’s PJM Political show on XM Radio. Why, yes, I am a multimedia star, so famous that nearly some people have heard of me.

8:07PM On my first map published last night on VodkaPundit, I already had my home state of Colorado painted blue. Someone asked why I was willing to do color Colorado but leave some other particular swing state blue. Let me tell you: I saw Obama’s ground operation first hand, and it was a thing to behold. Energetic, organized, and optimistic. Despite some promises heard secondhand from some McCain people, I never saw that kind of thing from the Republicans here.

7:55PM MN is a lock for Obama, and MI looks pretty safe for him at this point, too.

7:41PM Please excuse the interruption, but if you just missed me on PJTV, then you just missed what might have been the world’s first live drunk video multiperson blog. Oh, yeah, that’s the 21st Century, baby.

While I was gone, Fox called OH for Obama — and it looks like by a pretty good margin, too. With that, the electoral math for a McCain victory becomes nearly impossible. And so I’ll remind you of something I wrote on VodkaPundit earlier this week: That I would vote my conscience and drink heavily. Bob Barr, this one’s for you!

7:15PM RI and WI are blue — and it looks like MI is, too. I’d wait a few more minutes before making that call, however. Speaking of a few more minutes, we’ll take a break from the drunkblogging while I make my scheduled appearance on PJTV.com. Tonight, it’s free to everybody, and you don’t even need to register.

7:14PM WY, ND, KS all red. ND was a bit of a worry for McCain, given that state’s libertarian (be still my beating heart!) leanings. Had Obama won there, I would have declared the race over and gone to bed. Don’t get me wrong, I would have taken my martini with me…

7:02PM NC is trending blue on heavy black turnout — which just goes to show you can’t trust the exit polls. It’s looking like a squeaker in NC whichever way it goes.

7:00PM Just as I was about to try and write something semi-trenchant about ABC News and their way-too-early PA call, iTunes started playing the Rolling Stones’s “Harlem Shuffle.” Which seemed so appropriate I forgot what I was going to write.

6:55PM Fox News likes Georgia for McCain. So do I. If there’s going to be a blowout tonight, at least it won’t be a total blowout.

6:53PM Another ABC News mystery: PA got called before RI, which remains some dark mystery to the crew over there? What gives?

6:49PM With almost half of precincts reporting, McCain is still up by 8 points in VA. That’s getting tough to reconcile with the exit polling and the hearsay reports. What’s going on? A tighter race than expected, perhaps — odd, given Obama’s popularity and McCain’s lousy ground operation.

6:44PM The popular vote is tightening as returns start coming in from the Deep South — McCain’s 6.2 million to Obama’s 6.4. But wait a while when the Upper Midwest and West Coast start reporting in.

6:40PM Color AL red, if you haven’t already. And prepare yourself for the Mother of All Legal Battles if it comes down to PA — which it doesn’t look like it will.

6:30PM Michael Barone calls “BS!” on PA so early. I honestly don’t know what’s going on there, but such an early call makes me think of FL in 2000.

6:24PM McCain looks to get trounced in VA, despite those two “almosts” up above, according to Bryon York at The Corner. That’s why they’re called “almosts.”

6:21PM My perma-co-guest blogger Will Collier emails to tell me that he hasn’t seen Bill Kristol look this bad since his man McCain get stomped in SC by Bush in 2000. Considering who his contacts are, that’s got to make people happy at Obama HQ.

6:14PM With almost a quarter of precincts reporting in VA, McCain still has enough of a lead (12 points) to make me almost think there might be a real contest here. Almost.

6:08PM I’m doubly surprised that PA got called before NY. Just how many dead people cast ballots in PA, anyway? And does this mean that John Murtha will keep his seat? Now I really need a drink. Another drink, I mean. For my other hand, just to be clear. It’s a two-fisted night.

6:07PM States are coming in fast and furious now. Paint ME, NH, MA, CN, NJ, DE, MD, DC, PA, and IL blue. For those keeping score at home, it’s 102 for Obama, 34 for McCain. I admit to some surprise that PA was called so quickly after all the activity there the last few days. Stay tuned.

6:04PM Oklahoma and Tennessee are officially colored red now, too.

5:56PM South Carolina is McCain Country. Again, no surprises and nothing smart VodkaPundit readers didn’t know already.

5:45PM Ed Driscoll blogs, “When in doubt, disenfranchise military voters.”

5:41PM The Corner says that North Carolina polls will stay open an extra hour. Did I mention it was going to be a long night? It just got longer.

5:39PM Fox calls West Virginia for McCain. No surprises there, and you can see it on the first map I posted an hour ago.

5:27PM Intrade bettors are putting their money on Indiana for Obama, based I would think on those “too close to call” exit polls. For what it’s worth, I made out like a bandit in 2004, buying up Bush shares when the exit polls started leaking.

5:20PM Early returns show McCain ahead slightly in Virginia, but it’s far, far too early to call that state either way. It is not, however, too early to turn up Red Hot Chili Peppers to unsustainable levels.

5:13.5PM But they haven’t called DC? Cowards!

5:13PM No surprises here, but it will give you something to do with your crayons — ABC News has called Vermont for Obama and Kentucky for McCain.

5:11PM Drudge Report, Google News, and Instapundit are all loading slower than usual. It’s election night, kids — and those innerweb tubes are stuffed full. This might be a good time to refresh your drinks and wait for the first East Coast precincts to start reporting in.

5:03PM ABC News reports that black voter turnout is barely up over 2004. I don’t know if that means anything, but it is a bit of a surprise.

4:56PM Cheap as McCain stock is on Intrade right now (down 3.1 points to 6.1), non-risk averse bettors might just want to buy some of that action. I just bought some. Will probably lose my money, but the payoff would be sweeeeeet. (Pajamas Media, its affiliates, sponsors and sane people do not condone betting on international sites of questionable legality. Or skateboarding.)

4:43PM What’s this? I’m calling Ohio already for McCain? Provisionally, yes. If the exit polls are really “too close to call,” that indicates Republican strength. Democrats are typically much more likely to talk to exit pollsters. Is Florida the next state to go red? Stay tuned…

(click to enlarge)

4:28PM There are only three drinks VodkaPundit endorses for drunkblogging purposes: The gin or vodka martini, and scotch.

Here’s how to prepare each to perfection.

The VodkaPundit Martini

You’ll need:

Ketel One Citroen Vodka (it’s got this wonderfully chunky mouth feel).
A chilled martini glass.
A cocktail shaker.
A handful of whole ice cubes (not crushed).

Shake the vodka vigorously over ice for 15 seconds, then strain into the glass. I’ve trained myself so that 50 vigorous shakes takes exactly 15 seconds. That’s devotion to your craft.

The Perfect Gin Martini

You’ll need:

Bombay Sapphire Gin.
One twist of lemon zest.
One small splash of dry vermouth.
A chilled martini glass.
A cocktail shaker.
A handful of whole ice cubes (not crushed).

Pour a small amount of vermouth into your glass, swirl, and shake out the excess. Run the lemon zest over the rim of the glass, then drop it in. Shake the gin vigorously over ice for 15 seconds, then strain into the glass.

Scotch

You’ll need: