MiddBlog: Election Day Liveblog

This page is an archived version of our November 3-5 Election Day 2008 live blog. Twelve students and professors (well, just one engaged professor) authored this page. You can find more information on the bloggers and how we made it happen on our Live Blog INFO page. Thanks for tuning in! Congrats to Obama!

• 8:37 PM Ryan Y. Kellett - And we’re live with MiddBlog coverage of Election 2008! Welcome to the liveblog discussion! Some basic rules: 1) keep your posts short, 2) anything goes but be respectful, 3) if you’re posting from a location, please be sure to include that in parenthesis (example: (Grille) or (Dana) or (My Office)). Have fun!
• 8:52 PM Sarah Franco - If I may borrow from my current Facebook status: I feel like a little child on Christmas Eve. Will Santa bring me a shiny new bicycle or a lump of coal?
• 8:55 PM Ryan Y. Kellett - Rumor has it that Republicans everywhere on campus are hiding out tomorrow night. Could it get ugly?
• 8:58 PM Maeve Whelan-Wuest - I understand that according to the polls and pundits, as a Democrat I shouldn’t be worried right now, yet I am still absolutely TERRIFIED…maybe it’s because I’m a Cubs fan.
• 11:27 PM Kasima Brown - Is anyone else concerned that their vote won’t count? How do were really know if our absentee ballots are received and counted? Can’t we get some kind of notification system? Oh, and I just want my “I voted” sticker? I voted, even if it was by mail.
• 11:30 PM Kasima Brown - Where are you going to be tomorrow night? Personally, I’m contemplating skipping the broadcasts and festivities and just going to bed and waking up to a new President…then again the subsequent cursing or screaming would ruin the surprise before morning.
• 2:37 AM Maeve Whelan-Wuest - Anybody else having trouble falling asleep?
• 6:21 AM Sarah Franco - No trouble falling asleep, but trouble staying asleep! I’ve been up since before 6.
• 6:23 AM Sarah Franco - Kasima: were you given some sort of stub with your ballot? In some places, you can log on to the website of your local elections board and type your receipt number in to see if they got your ballot, or not. But I’m guessing that since you’re asking, you probably didn’t get a stub . . .
• 6:27 AM Sarah Franco - The first voting results are coming in . . . Barack Obama has won Dixville Notch (15 to 6) and Hart’s Location (17 to 10, with two write-ins for Ron Paul), NH! How many electoral votes is that? Dixville Notch, at least, had 100% voter turnout at midnight!
• 6:34 AM Sarah Franco - I should also add that it’s very significant that Obama won in Dixville Notch. According to CNN, Dixville Notch traditionally leans Republican. The last time the majority of voters cast ballots for a Democrat was 1968! In 2000, Bush won 21 to 5 against Al Gore and, in 2004, Bush won 19 to 6 against Kerry. This is huge for Obama.
• 6:47 AM Sarah Franco - CNN.com is reporting that10 voter irregularities have been called in for Vermont. By c/p-ing the link below, you can view a map of the US and see how many voter irregularities have been called in to CNN.The most calls have come from Nevada, Colorado, and the southeast, especially Florida with 1,616. http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/voter.hotline/
• 7:38 AM Ryan Y. Kellett - Real Clear Politics : OK, up and at ‘em. My mother thinks she’s so “in-the-know” by sending me a link to Real Clear Politics last night. Yes, mother, very hip of you…
• 7:40 AM Ryan Y. Kellett - @Sarah and Maeve: I slept fine.
• 8:08 AM Ryan Y. Kellett - Facebook news feed is starting to populate with an “election rally” application that updates your status with who you voted for, encouraging others to get out the vote.
• 8:09 AM Ryan Y. Kellett - If you’re somehow miraculously off-campus, free Ben and Jerry’s if you vote. Free Starbucks too…
• 9:08 AM Jason Mittell - Just a note to cut your faculty some slack today – my head’s certainly not in the classroom today!
• 9:12 AM Ryan Y. Kellett - Hottest dining hall fashion item this morning: the Obama retro t-shirt. I’ve seen four and I’ve only been in the dining hall for 15 mins.
• 10:06 AM Rowan Braybrook - Facebook is going election-crazy: not just the barrage of status updates, but also free virtual ice cream from Ben and Jerry’s to “celebrate democracy” and a running tally of Facebook users who say they’ve voted (fast approaching a million). Viva Democracy 2.0!
• 11:02 AM Ryan Y. Kellett - My Prof. this morning: “If McCain wins, I’m canceling class”
• 12:48 PM Hallie Gammon - I feel like I’m in the twilight zone here in France – almost nobody remembers it’s election day, except the Americans (you can spot us by our slight twitchiness). I’m almost tempted to stay up all night to watch the election returns come in.
• 12:49 PM Sarah Franco - There is a little part of me that is bummed I voted early. While eating my lunch, I read all these great stories from people who had gone to vote today. There’s something a little bit romantic about standing in a long line for 30-45 minutes and voting for Barack Obama. The only thing that took about 30-45 minutes when I voted was filling in all the little bubbles for Justice of the Peace. Geez Louise, everybody and their brother in this town is running for J.P. (Including Professors David Rosenberg and Mike Olinick!)
• 12:59 PM Sarah Franco - Yet, I don’t want to make light of standing in a long line to vote. Rachel Maddow calls long voting lines the new poll tax and I find her argument to be compelling: youtube.com/watch?v=9EAyiA5Rmf0
• 1:27 PM Emily Gullickson - The US elections are all anyone can talk about in Italy today. All the major newspapers and television networks are covering the lead up and the results. It’s also pretty much guaranteed that every restaurant and bar in Florence tonight is running an American Election special.
• 3:06 PM Ryan Y. Kellett - My Econ professor: “it’s my academic duty to keep you guessing on my political affiliations, especially today.”
• 3:12 PM Jason Mittell - I’m curious what students think about the line that Ryan quotes – is it faculty’s “academic duty” to obscure political opinions? (Personally, I fervently disagree for reasons I’m happy to explain, but am curious about student opinion first.)
• 4:08 PM Caitlin Maxwell - In response to Prof. Mittell’s post:As a student I’ve always thought it was helpful to know what my professors’ views are in any subject, especially when it relates to the subject matter of the class. As long as I don’t feel that I’m required to conform to their views, it helps me place the information from the class into the wider debate on the subject.
• 4:28 PM Sarah Franco - The first polls will close in 90 minutes! Who’s excited? I’m excited!
• 4:35 PM Ryan Y. Kellett - Tarsi Dunlop ’09 reminds us over on Presidential Power Blog: “NY Times is reporting that six major news networks have agreed to keep exit poll data quarantined until 5 PM (includes NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, FOX and the AP)…data crunching is going on in secret apparently…we’ll see how long that actually lasts.”
• 4:41 PM Sarah Franco - @Jason: My views on this are mixed. Of course, I loved it when I discovered that my professors were liberal. Why? Because I’m liberal and–this is going to sound uber cheesy–but it’s comforting in a way to know that the person who is teaching you shares the same values that you do. But I can understand the sentiment from some conservative students, who are in the minority on campus, that they sometimes feel uncomfortable expressing their opposing views in class, which I think is unfortunate. From my perspective (and, again, it’s a liberal perspective), I think most professors react courteously and professionally to students whose views differ, but I would understand if conservative students do not feel the same way as I do. Thus, I think if a professor decides to make his or her political views known, then he or she needs to walk what can be a very fine line between expression and oppression of classroom discourse. Students already have a hard enough time participating, let’s not give them one more reason not to.
• 4:46 PM Hallie Gammon - I prefer to know my professors’ political views if it’s relevant to the subject (history, econ, etc.). They’re going to creep in anyway, no matter how much they try to be objective (which doesn’t bother me; if you try to stay completely neutral about a subject, it usually ends up being dry and boring) and as Emily says, it helps you place the information, knowing which way the possible bias goes. That said, I don’t particularly want my math profs to start evangelizing their political views in class.
• 5:07 PM Ryan Y. Kellett - At Middlebury Obama Central in Coltrane Lounge: “Hello. This is Change calling. How are you today?” – Will Bellaimey ’10
• 5:08 PM Heather Pangle - I think that what depends most is how hard the professor tries to ensure that all views are respected and that political discussion stays academically relevant. Although in general I prefer not to know my professors’ political leanings, it is no comfort to have a professor who doesn’t admit their leanings assign extreme Bush-bashing op-ed pieces in class and include snide comments about the president or the mental health of evangelicals who support Israel in their lectures (examples from my own experience with various midd professors). Even if the professor chooses to reveal their political leanings, any successful approach will involve them trying to leave out their partisan passions and acknowledge that other opinions are not irrational or foolish.
• 5:15 PM Sarah Franco - When the time comes for the exit polls to be unleashed, check out the widgets at MSNBC (msnbc.msn.com/id/26843704) or CNN (cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/polls.main).c
• 5:43 PM Sarah Franco - Exit poll data has been released, but only for key voter issues, not presidential decisions. 62% of voters said that the economy was the greatest issue for them (Iraq 10%, terrorism 9%, health care 9%). No surprise here: 38% said that Sarah Palin is prepared to be President, while 67% said the same for Joe Biden. Hopefully, this information will begin appearing in the MSNBC and CNN widgets soon.
• 6:38 PM Ryan Y. Kellett - Our featured polisci professors Dickenson and Johnson are setting up The Grille! They start live commentary at 8PM. Come on over.
• 6:39 PM Jason Mittell - Thanks all for your thoughts on the question of faculty and politics. My own take is that objectivity is impossible, so why bother trying. Instead, modeling honesty & openness (in both directions) is encouraged, and intelligent political passions makes for a more engaging educational environment. Whether this is achieved in my classroom is probably a better topic for Midd Confessional!
• 6:53 PM Jason Mittell - Nate on 538 with the first results from Indiana, comparing Obama to Kerry by precinct. Good news for Obama.
• 6:55 PM Rowan Braybrook - Bizzare: multiple professors on campus are having screenings tonight, including at least one political science professor. More classes have tests or midterms tomorrow. Is it really that hard to CHANGE these things? (Har. Har.)
• 7:01 PM Jason Mittell - CNN calls Vermont for Obama! A shocker…
• 7:07 PM Rowan Braybrook - …and Kentucky for McCain. Also a big surprise.
• 7:18 PM George Altshuler - Update: Middlebury Students have made 5375 calls for the Obama from Coltrane lounge today. And we’re still going.
• 7:23 PM Rowan Braybrook - Hey George–how many students have volunteered for that?
• 7:25 PM George Altshuler - hard to say exactly–people have been going in and out. I’d estimate over 150.
• 7:34 PM Kasima Brown - the Grille needs more chairs for tonight.
• 7:39 PM George Altshuler - collection of good names Middlebury for Obama has called tonight: Erika Van Falkenstein, Jeremy Mangold, Magic Johnson, Tiffany Holler, Anatoly Shchuchkoff, Vitayalakshim Chawan. Current total 5753
• 8:23 PM Ryan Y. Kellett - Wow, just got out of class and yes, The Grille is overflowing 20 mins after the official start of the event. Two screens for the professors: one for TV, the other for web coverage and examples.
• 8:26 PM Jason Mittell - Eric Davis is on WCAX right now.
• 8:30 PM Jason Mittell - CNN, which seems to be the most conservative in calling states, calls NH for Obama.
• 8:37 PM Jason Mittell - Check out for a chart of what networks have called what states.
• 8:40 PM Ryan Y. Kellett - The Grille gets worse! Our live blog team shut out because students are overloading the wireless internet there. The professors are pleading for students to shut off their wireless so that they can get on to do some analysis.
• 8:41 PM Ryan Y. Kellett - CNN calls Pennsylvania for Obama — a big swing state!
• 8:42 PM Ryan Y. Kellett - The Grille too busy? No live professor commentary in Dana Auditorium, but CNN is going strong here with not a single student soul in sight…
• 8:47 PM Ryan Y. Kellett - blogs.middlebury.edu Prof. Dickinson’s Blog
• 8:57 PM Caitlin Maxwell - Grille is going well, great to see the professors challenging each other’s predictions. The current debate is over the split of late deciders, we’ll see who ends up being right.
• 9:04 PM Jason Mittell - Caitlin: What are some of the challenges happening at the Grille?
• 9:07 PM Rowan Braybrook - Is Obama Presidexnt? One word answer.
• 9:11 PM Kasima Brown - Ryan, still at Dana? Is it more crowded now?
• 9:20 PM Jason Mittell - CNN calls McConnell in KY. That would have been a coup…
• 9:21 PM Jason Mittell - And Fox called OH for Obama!
• 9:24 PM Caitlin Maxwell - There’s currently a bet between Dickinson and Carmola over the split with Carmola calling Obama with over 55% of the national vote. There’s also a disagreement between Dickinson and Johnson over how late deciders will split, Dickinson is calling a 5 to 1 split for McCain, and Johnson thinks they’ll break 50/50.
• 9:25 PM Caitlin Maxwell - Johnson has also said he thinks VA will go to Obama despite the current polling for McCain do to the low reporting rate in northern districts.
• 9:28 PM Ryan Y. Kellett - Dana still empty but TV lounges across campus look pretty full. Students’ eyes glued to the television. Mood is light and no one I’ve seen is drinking yet…
• 9:36 PM Caitlin Maxwell - Dickinson and Johnson call the election with the call of the Ohio race.
• 9:40 PM Rowan Braybrook - Chant in the Grille: “YES WE CAN! YES WE CAN!”
• 9:40 PM Jason Mittell - CNN just reported that at McCain HQ, they’ve stopped showing the news on the screen. Kind of a symbol for the past four years…
• 9:40 PM Rowan Braybrook - Ah, the political diversity of this campus…
• 9:43 PM Caitlin Maxwell - Dickinson is holding to his view that the election was based on the economy rather than either actual campaign.
• 9:43 PM Jason Mittell - CNN has pretty much outlined the possibilities for a McCain victory: impossible.
• 9:45 PM Rowan Braybrook - Indiana and Florida are soooo close right now.
• 9:47 PM Rowan Braybrook - Dickinson: “Are we seeing a major restucturing of American politics? No. It’s changing gradually. The Democratic party is broadening its support.”
• 9:48 PM Jason Mittell - I agree with Dickinson, in that the clear strong margin of victory is due to the economy becoming the #1 issue. But I think if the financial meltdown hadn’t happened, it would still be a toss-up due to the excellent campaigning of Obama – they had bullets left in their gun that they never used against McCain.
• 9:48 PM Caitlin Maxwell - We still have to see if Johnson will be right in his VA prediction. The race there is now 50/50.
• 9:52 PM Rowan Braybrook - Dickinson: Palin was a good choice, otherwise all the close elections would have gone to Obama because of McCain’s somewhat more liberal history. She also attracted some Hillary supporters, but they made mistakes with the Katie Couric interview and with using her as a lightening rod because women generally don’t like attack ads. They didn’t close the deal.
• 10:01 PM Avery Finch - Hi from Norwich, UK! Currently watching CNN in the campus pub at U of East Anglia with 300 screaming Obama fans.
• 10:02 PM Jason Mittell - OK – I’m switching over to Comedy Central for the live Daily Show/Colbert special.
• 10:17 PM Ryan Y. Kellett - @Avery: American Obama fans or British Obama fans?
• 10:19 PM Caitlin Maxwell - There’s an interesting discussion in the Grille over the weakness of blogs as a media source when people only read sources they agree with. It feels like we’re trying to fill time till the west coast polls close.
• 10:21 PM Rowan Braybrook - As are the networks; talking about whether or not this is a post-racial campaign and discussing the dangers of swinging too far to the left like ’92.
• 10:23 PM Rowan Braybrook - McCain camp sees “no path to victory”.
• 10:48 PM Jason Mittell - Fox called VA for Obama!
• 11:00 PM Caitlin Maxwell - CNN called VA for Obama as well!
• 11:01 PM Caitlin Maxwell - CNN calls the popular vote for Obama at 53%.
• 11:02 PM Jason Mittell - And the Daily Show called Obama the winner. That’s official!
• 11:14 PM Sarah Franco - The AP is reporting that John McCain has called Barack Obama to concede the election! Now, that’s official! YAAAAAAAAY!!!!!!!!!!!!
• 11:15 PM Kasima Brown - I have one word…. “Woot.”
• 11:15 PM Ryan Y. Kellett - All I heard was screaming across campus…screams of joy…
• 11:16 PM Sarah Franco - I have been at the Two Brothers Election Party since 6:00 p.m. When CNN announced Barack Obama as the next President of the United States, the crowd went wild! There was a lot of hugging, a lot clapping, and a lot screaming!
• 11:20 PM Sarah Franco - Not that it matters anymore, but CNN is projecting that Barack Obama has 306 electoral votes.
• 11:28 PM Rowan Braybrook - Mad props to the McCain campaign for a gracious concession. Reaching across the divide means a lot, and November 5 is a new day. It’s time to get the country back on track, and it sounds like McCain is up for that, even if his rather rabid crowd may not be.
• 11:29 PM Rowan Braybrook - Fingers crossed for a nonpartisan beginning.
• 11:31 PM Rowan Braybrook - The old Mac was back in that speech, and Johnson agrees.
• 11:31 PM Jason Mittell - Sarah – it definitely matters how much he wins by. He’s winning more convincingly than Bush or Clinton did, which is pretty astounding. Winning VA, FL, and hopefully IN and NC means a ton for shifting the political tone in the country.
• 11:32 PM Jason Mittell - McCain’s speech was classy, displaying the tolerance and fairness that his campaign lacked. Alas, I’m not convinced that his more rabid followers will embrace those values…
• 11:46 PM Sarah Franco - Obama is expected to make his victory speech at 12:00 EST.
• 11:50 PM Avery Finch - Ryan – both American and British! And my Mauritian flatmate came, so Mauritian as well.
• 11:52 PM George Altshuler - Granted I’m a few glasses of champagne in, but I’ll be interested to read over McCain’s speech tomorrow. My initial impression was that it was a little condescending of McCain to begin his speech by viewing Obama only in the prism of the first black President.
• 11:59 PM Sarah Franco - Obama is on stage in Grant Park with his wife Michelle and his two daughters. This may not be the most earth shattering comment to make on this momentous occasion, but, man, I love Mrs. Obama’s dress!
• 12:03 AM Sarah Franco - Barack is getting his daughters a new puppy!
• 12:08 AM Sarah Franco - The crowd chants, “Yes we can!”
• 12:16 AM Sarah Franco - And there’s Joe Biden!
• 12:17 AM Jason Mittell - And Oprah wept.
• 12:18 AM Sarah Franco - Crazy! Barack Obama just sent me an e-mail!
• 12:20 AM Avery Finch - Here’s a video I took (here in England) when CNN broke the news. We were counting along with the clocks until the west coast polls when “Barack Obama Elected President” appeared on the screen. And FYI, most people in this video are not American! I’d guess 60% of people there were British.
• 12:20 AM Avery Finch - Sorry, here’s the video:
• 12:23 AM Ryan Y. Kellett - @Sarah: What a multi-tasker Obama is. He can send emails and give acceptance speeches at the same time.
• 12:24 AM Ryan Y. Kellett - @Avery: Sweet video! Definitely portrays the excitement. There is still screaming to be heard across the Battell quad.
• 12:30 AM Ryan Y. Kellett - MiddBlog will continue to keep the live blog going until tomorrow morning just so students both here and abroad can put in a few final words. Thanks much to all those who have chimed in with their thoughts today. As of right now, we had nearly 1500 visitors come to check out what Middlebury had to say about a truly historic day. Signing off, -Ryan for MiddBlog
• 12:44 AM Jason Mittell - A closing thought from the token old guy: I graduated from college in 1992, a few months before Clinton’s election. It was in the midst of a recession under Bush #1, and most of my generation felt alienated from the previous 12 years. With Clinton’s win, we were overjoyed with hope and possibility, the feeling of relief that washed over us. Tonight is exponentially so much greater, both in the sense of despair preceding it and the possibilities going forward. Enjoy it, bask in it. (And you have my sincerest hopes that Obama doesn’t let you down anywhere near as much as Clinton did to me.)
• 1:44 AM Hallie Gammon - It’s like Christmas morning – I went to bed last night and woke up with a new president! I can’t wait to get to school and see what the mood is like here. Hopefully less apathetic than it was yesterday.
• 6:51 AM Sarah Franco - Rumor has it that this election witnessed the biggest voter turnout since women won the right to vote in 1920. Some are saying close to 90 percent of voters voted in Virginia and Colorado, and about 80%+ in Ohio, California, Texas, Missouri, and Maryland. I hope voters can keep up this momentum for elections in the future.
• 6:53 AM Sarah Franco - Votes are still being processed in Missouri and North Carolina, but the electoral vote count is currently at Barack Obama, 349, and John McCain, 163. McCain won Montana over night.
• 6:56 AM Sarah Franco - With 95% of the precincts reporting, Barack Obama received 52% (a little over 62 million) of the popular vote, and John McCain received 46% (a smidge over 55 million). This is a decisive victory for Obama.