Checking out

I'm cooked like Christmas ham, kids.

I can't believe I stayed up refreshing electoral maps all night. In 2000, I had roller hockey on Tuesday, so my team hung out at the front counter after our game, watching returns, laughing at Tim Russert's dry-erase board, and generally rooting for Bush. (He had yet to attain single-letter status.)

Now I spent about four hours IM-ing with a friend and watching graphic representations of states move this way and that. Pathetically, I began to chant to myself, "O-hi-o! O-hi-o!" as the state crawled closer to W's column. Then I started chanting "I-o-wa! I-o-wa!" when Yahoo's composite map swung from pink to pale blue. It looks like both are solidly for GWB, though naturally the JK/JE ticket is playing the Galaxy Quest card - Never give up, never surrender.

I applaud the sentiment, being one who enjoys stern defiance, but if these guys had even half this stubborn resolve against the country's actual enemies, I'd sleep easier at night.

As of 2:52 am, EDT, only five states are in play. Bush is holding 52% of NM, 99% counted (not called yet!), and 51.2% of OH (98% counted). Countrywide, the President has nearly a 4 million vote lead. Refreshing at 3:00 sharp, Nevada was just called for W. His margins in the other states are wider, with more votes counted, excepting Wisconsin, which Kerry leads by about 19K. According to the county map, that's about the best news the challenger has - very few Ohio precincts are left to report, and nearly all are in W's wheelhouse. Blue Ohio - Cuyahoga, Franklin, Lorain, Mahoning, Stark, Summit, Trumbull - are all in. Red Ohio has nearly all the remaining 236 unreporting precincts, with 150 of those in Hamilton, currently running 53% for W (188,000 votes and counting!).