The Morning After: Do Not Disturb

Blissfully asleep? I just got home at 7:00 AM after the night’s revelry in the District, where a literal parade of people marched to the White House to chant “pack your sh!t!” at the gates.

Looking forward to a good day’s sleep…

I watched the returns at an election par-tee at my parents’ house. My dad flipped between MSNBC and CNN, and there was a significant difference between the two in terms of when winners (by state) were declared – MSNBC tended to be the first to call the states, we’d watch, and then he’d switch over to CNN sometime later and they were still talking like those states were up in the air. So while we were delighted to get the early news on MSNBC, we all tended to lack faith in the call until it was confirmed on CNN. Scarboro, on MSNBC, basically called the election around 9:30, I think, and said that for all practical purposes it was over. And that was nice to hear, but it was even better to hear it officially. It was a pretty amazing night.

My husband and I don’t have kids yet, but we plan to start trying within the next few months. It hadn’t hit me until last night at about 1am that my kids will be born under an Obama administration, and what an amazing thing that is. While I’m a supporter of many of Obama’s policies, the racial thing is pretty incredible too. My kids won’t ever know a world where a black person can’t be president, and they won’t be born under a right-wing administration. That gives my family cause for a lot of joy right now.

Side note – I think Chris Mathews was going rogue at some point, MSNBC had already called Pennsylvania for Obama but Mathews was still trying to argue it was up in the air because of counties that hadn’t reported yet. Everyone else seemed to jump to shut him down.

My family was discussing what we’re calling “The Obama Effect” – that a lot of people wanted to be part of something historic. We theorize that it is a companion to The Bradley Effect, only this time folks on the fence were looking forward in time and realizing that this election was going to be fundamentally important and a major historical milestone, that Obama was probably going to win, and they didn’t want to have tell their grandchildren one day that they had voted against the first black president (or, as my dad repeatedly hollered at the TV everytime someone called Obama a black man, “half black!!”). History tends to judge reactionary forces pretty harshly, and we – as a nation – have enough of a long-view that we ought to recognize that by now.

James, I feel your pain –I went to bed at 5:30am but was up 3 hours later, adrenalin still pumping.

So, together with the citizens of Kenya who are marking today as an official National holiday– “Obama Day”, I am wholeheartedly shutting down the ‘chop-shop’, and will instead spend the day marveling at the making of history (albeit a little droopy-eyed).

Shalom.

@shara says — I had the exact same thought last night. We’re still a couple of years away from kids, but it’s amazing to think that they’ll be born in such a monumental phase of our country’s history.

The only thing that detracts from this joy, for me, is knowing that Obama’s grandmother wasn’t able to live to see him get elected, and to remember that Obama’s (and America’s) triumph is coming at the same time that he is mourning the loss of one of the most important and beloved people in his life.

I love the Spelling Bee. The drama, the suspense, the goofy nerdy kids freaking out. I will totally be there for a liveblog.