Election Recycling: Hungover and Anti-Gay Edition
•Down to Ohio: 250,000 or so provisional ballots. Fox News breaks Ohio forBushat 12: 41.Russert: "Bushhas two or three paths to 270,John Kerryhas one, and it goes through Ohio."McCurry: "At the end of the day, we win. I'm not sure what day, but we win."Tucker: "Somebody should reassess exit polling... It's useless." [ WP , WP , NYT , NYT , NYT , USAT ]
•Same-sex marriage bans win inall 11 states. [ WP , NYT , USAT ]
•Battle of the bases: A night of few surprises. Scholar: "One bit of conventional wisdom was that high turnout would benefit the Democrats. Republicans may do it differently, but they proved they can produce high turnout, too." [ WP , WP ]
• Edwardsspoke after "reports of pandemonium" inside theKerrycamp: "optimism gave way to a bunker-like isolation as the night dragged on";Bushphoto-op called after "cataclysmic" images from the day. [ WP , WP , WP , USAT , USAT ]
• Bushachieves mandate, takes Florida. [ NYT , NYT ]
• McAuliffeat 8 p.m.: "This is the best election night in history." [ WP ]
• Kerry: "I cannot tell you how excited I am to sleep in my own bed." [ NYT ]
•At the GOP party: "Look! Look! There's a couple making out. Making out! In full view of the TV cameras. Two men behind a pole are holding hands, praying, Promise Keepers style." [ WP ]
•Original strategy paid off forBush. [ BG ]
•Concession a challenge, likely written byShrum. [ WSJ ]
• Shales: "Had [the anchors] taken Valium, or were they somehow doling it out through the airwaves and cables that bring TV into the homes and bars of the nation? The night was sure full of numbing inspirations." [ WP ]
•Florida Republicans: "What made the difference? Two words: Ground game. We had 109,000 volunteers throughout the state. In 2000, we made 77,000 personal contacts. In the last four days, we made 1.7 million." [ USAT ]
•Irrational exuberance: exit polls blinked. [ BG , USAT , WSJ , LAT , LAT ]
• Alexandra Kerry, earlier in the evening: "I feel confident, but I'm feeling nauseous too. That's just me." [ BG ]
• Naderdidn't spoil. [ WP , NYT , USAT ]
•Colorado: Winner-take-all remains. [ NYT ]
•California: Stem-cell funds approved. [ SFC ]
•Montana: Medical Marijuana approved. [ LAT ]
•African-Americans turn out forKerry. [ NYT ]
•Eyes onHillary. [ BG ]
•NBC's Democracy Plaza cost $5m. [ USAT ]