Election Night
Have I mentioned that Portland is awesome? I hadn't gotten my ballot in prior to today, so I headed out to downtown to drop off my ballot in one of the ballot boxes, as well as to get my free Starbucks and free Ben & Jerry's. The reporting was just starting to trickle in when I left. I think that most of the Northeastern and Southern states had been called, but since those went pretty much as expected, I didn't have any interesting information.
So I got downtown, and first of all there were a TON of people out who were just excited that it was election day, that people were fulfilling their civic duty, and that democracy is still alive and well in the country. I bought a random hip hop mix from a local rapper, who then tried to hit on me and "fill out an application" to be my husband. Got my free Starbucks and headed to the downtown Ben & Jerry's. Well despite the information given on the website, that particular branch closed an hour early, at 7 pm, and I got there at 7:05. But I decided I'd try the next closest location, in the Pearl district. I was totally not the only person who had this idea. There were about 20 of us that all got on the street car at the downtown stop and then got off at the Pearl stop and walked directly to Ben & Jerry's. What was awesome about this part was that everyone got into a conversation about the election. People pulled out their iPhones and started updating everyone on the electoral count. So on the way to the Pearl, someone announces that the electoral count, without calling any of the West coast states, was just above 200, and that California alone has 55 electoral votes. Add Oregon and Washington, and that's over 270. I pretty much felt the election should be called at that point, as did most everyone around me, and the partying began. Got my free Ben & Jerry's, after a pretty long line, and also discovered that Ben & Jerry's in Portland has Happy Hour from 4-6. (Seriously, this city is insane when it comes to Happy Hour deals. There is even a book specifically to rate the Happy Hour's of Portland.) Then I walked home, which was a two mile walk, and got ready to go to karaoke.
Everyone at karaoke was in a super good mood, mostly because by that point the election had been called for Obama, but also because people in Portland generally aren't super political and were just happy that attack ads and the negative campaigning for all offices were gone for awhile. So attention locally turned to our senate race-- it was called relatively early, and then the news agencies rescinded their prediction. The race is still contested, and the incumbent, originally declared the loser, is slowly pulling ahead. People also were watching the measures pretty closely, which were mostly decided by significant margins. It was over all a great night, mostly not focused on the election, but with the occasional glance at the tv and conversation about the results.
As for songs, thank you to everyone who gave suggestions. I decided, given the outcome, to go with upbeat and hopeful songs. So I sang (in this order): "Yes We Can" by the Pointer Sisters, "Streetcorner Symphony" by Rob Thomas, and "Joy to the World" by Three Dog Night. My favorite choice by another singer was the British guy that sang "Good Riddance" by Green Day and dedicated it to President Bush.
Now I'm watching (mostly fast forwarding) through election coverage that I tivoed. Yeah, I know it's kind of silly given I know the outcome, but I mostly recorded it so I could see the acceptance and concession speeches. I'm also planning to watch the Comedy Central coverage for the laugh factor. I'll be heading to bed soon, but I'm hoping to maybe get a verdict on the Oregon Senate race. Did you know there will be at least 7 new Senators? And there are, at this point, still 4 incumbents awaiting the final call for their races. That seems a pretty significant number of new Senators to me.
So I got downtown, and first of all there were a TON of people out who were just excited that it was election day, that people were fulfilling their civic duty, and that democracy is still alive and well in the country. I bought a random hip hop mix from a local rapper, who then tried to hit on me and "fill out an application" to be my husband. Got my free Starbucks and headed to the downtown Ben & Jerry's. Well despite the information given on the website, that particular branch closed an hour early, at 7 pm, and I got there at 7:05. But I decided I'd try the next closest location, in the Pearl district. I was totally not the only person who had this idea. There were about 20 of us that all got on the street car at the downtown stop and then got off at the Pearl stop and walked directly to Ben & Jerry's. What was awesome about this part was that everyone got into a conversation about the election. People pulled out their iPhones and started updating everyone on the electoral count. So on the way to the Pearl, someone announces that the electoral count, without calling any of the West coast states, was just above 200, and that California alone has 55 electoral votes. Add Oregon and Washington, and that's over 270. I pretty much felt the election should be called at that point, as did most everyone around me, and the partying began. Got my free Ben & Jerry's, after a pretty long line, and also discovered that Ben & Jerry's in Portland has Happy Hour from 4-6. (Seriously, this city is insane when it comes to Happy Hour deals. There is even a book specifically to rate the Happy Hour's of Portland.) Then I walked home, which was a two mile walk, and got ready to go to karaoke.
Everyone at karaoke was in a super good mood, mostly because by that point the election had been called for Obama, but also because people in Portland generally aren't super political and were just happy that attack ads and the negative campaigning for all offices were gone for awhile. So attention locally turned to our senate race-- it was called relatively early, and then the news agencies rescinded their prediction. The race is still contested, and the incumbent, originally declared the loser, is slowly pulling ahead. People also were watching the measures pretty closely, which were mostly decided by significant margins. It was over all a great night, mostly not focused on the election, but with the occasional glance at the tv and conversation about the results.
As for songs, thank you to everyone who gave suggestions. I decided, given the outcome, to go with upbeat and hopeful songs. So I sang (in this order): "Yes We Can" by the Pointer Sisters, "Streetcorner Symphony" by Rob Thomas, and "Joy to the World" by Three Dog Night. My favorite choice by another singer was the British guy that sang "Good Riddance" by Green Day and dedicated it to President Bush.
Now I'm watching (mostly fast forwarding) through election coverage that I tivoed. Yeah, I know it's kind of silly given I know the outcome, but I mostly recorded it so I could see the acceptance and concession speeches. I'm also planning to watch the Comedy Central coverage for the laugh factor. I'll be heading to bed soon, but I'm hoping to maybe get a verdict on the Oregon Senate race. Did you know there will be at least 7 new Senators? And there are, at this point, still 4 incumbents awaiting the final call for their races. That seems a pretty significant number of new Senators to me.