Countdown clock = 0 days until the election

By Carol Gee

George W. Bush has 76 more days in office. That seems somehow fitting, as in 1776 A.D., the year we declared our independence. It has been a long eight years.

It is a big relief to be able to watch television without having to keep the remote in hand, poised to "zap" away the latest inanity* from the McCain-Palin campaign. And we will be through with campaign advertising of all kinds. Politico proclaimed, "The curtain finally falls."

Numbers are flying everywhere. We are making predictions, calculating percentages, divining results, modeling statistics, and taking exit polls, hoping to make the 2004 map look different tomorrow. We are all trying to capture what's in the crystal ball for November 4, 2008, a momentous day. Real Clear Politics predicts Obama 278, McCain 132 electoral votes. Glenn Greenwald posts his "conservative" predictions today.

So sad and ironic -- Just one day shy of living to see her grandson elected to the highest office in the land, Barack Obama's grandmother died peacefully in her sleep in Hawaii early Monday morning. Obama finished the last full day of his campaign speaking through tears to the large crowds that had gathered in several states. These was among the most poignant of scenes that I can remember in a while. Most of us would not have been able to do it. In my opinion, Obama showed a level of trust in his audiences that indicates a very open and healthy spirit. This morning he voted, and the campaign sent out Michelle Obama's message:

Today is Election Day. The opportunity to set our country on a new path has never felt more real than it does right now. The polls are open in most places, and people are already making their voices heard for change.

. . . This is the day when we have to commit to doing everything we can. We can't afford not to -- for our families, our communities, and our future.

Today will be a long day of long lines and nervous stomachs.# Lots of things can and will go wrong during the elections.# Republicans are suffering the most of all from worry, disappointment# and recriminations. Meanwhile, "the world hopes for its first President,"# as Newsweek headlines a very good article.

Hat Tip Key: Regular contributors of links to leads are "betmo"* and Jon#.

(Cross-posted at South by Southwest.)