Wow.  It’s finally here, isn’t it?  The big day.  Election ’08.

You know the drill by now – I will test my liveblogging pundit skills against the craziness of election eve and see if I can retain my Iron Stomach.  Tonight the Iron Stomach is filled with shrimp Singapore noodle courtesy of the greatest grocery store in the world – Wegman’s.  I worship at the altar of Wegman’s.

The Iron Pundit voted this morning at her local precinct in Northern Virginia at around 11:00 a.m.  They were running several lines of voters, grouped by last name.  My particular line had one person in it.  The others had dozens.  My husband reported that this morning, the line was stretching out the building and around the building.  Tonight, he voted with no line.  This, I should note, is par for the course in Fairfax County.  My experience as a pollwatcher in the past is that Fairfax County tends to vote in the morning, and the polls are all but empty at the end of the day.

Tonight, we will be watching CNN.  As much as I love Keith, Rachel and of course David Gregory, if I have to spend the night listening to Pat Buchannan, I know that my Iron Stomach will give out too early.

So without further ado….on with the show!

7:34 p.m. -- first off everyone, do NOT panic that Virginia is showing McCain with a lead.  Two years ago, when Webb was running for the Senate, they looked exactly the same. Webb won.  Northern Virginia's precincts take much longer to close because the procedures are more detailed and you are dealing with way more voters.  So you will not see Fairfax County reporting until close to 9 p.m.  The race cannot be called in Virginia until Fairfax County reports.

7:40 p.m. -- quick jump to MSNBC  shows Georgia "Too Early" to call and Indiana "Too Close".   Georgia is expected to go to McCain.  But if it were to be close, that owuld be good for Obama.  So far everyone has the count at Obama 3 (VT) and McCain 8 (KY).  I don't know what the hell the guy talking is blathering about.

7:45 p.m. -- McCain is talking to reporters on the plane, Cindy by his side looking somewhat ill and constipated.

 7:46 p.m. -- McCain takes SC...bringing McCain's tally to 16 votes.  And apparently the AP exit polls are indicating rampant ticket splitting.

7:49 p.m. -- David Gergen and the other pundits at CNN are talking about exit polls vs. voting numbers.  I think the pletora of pundits at CNN are going to make me too jangly to watch. (Plethora?  Murder?  Herd?  Actually, my personal fave is a "Blovation" -- as in "a blovation of pundits are on CNN"....)

7:57 p.m. -- CNN finally calls SC for McCain, a full 11 minutes after MSNBC.

7:58 p.m. -- Jeffrey Toobin explains how it is that he can call SC for McCain despite the fact that the real votes have Obama ahead.

8:01 p.m. -- John McCain gets OK and TN.  Obama gets DE, MD, DC, CT, NJ, IL and at least 3 of Maine's 4 votes.  The count, according to CNN, is Obama 77 and McCain 34.  And that stupid ping they do when they call the states is going to really piss me off by 9 p.m.

8:04 p.m. -- Switching to MSNBC.  For the record, I do not see a Rolling Rock next to Tom Brokaw.  He must be hiding it.

8:05 p.m. -- They have called PA for Obama.

8:06 p.m. -- Apparently NBC's exit polls are actually strong for Obama.  Brokaw has promised "something special" for commemorating Tim Russert.  And I really, really hate the MSNBC set.

8:10 p.m. -- in honor of PA, i have hubby fetch me a Yuengling.

8:11 p.m. -- CNN still has not called PA.  I am hoping that MSNBC didn't prematurely call the state for Obama.

8:12 p.m. -- CNN just got finished showing the rally in Grant Park.  Crowds of crazy people.  Now they are at John McCain's ballroom in Arizona.  Very quiet...choral music.  Kinda like a funeral.

8:14 p.m. -- Obama ahead in OH, WV, NH.  McCain ahead in Georgia.

8:17 p.m.  -- Ronnie Musgrove's race is too close to call.  He's a democrat running in MISSISSIPPI.  Freaking MISSISSIPPI people. 

8:23 p.m. -- With PA off the table for McCain, the road for Obama gets a lot easier.  He can now afford to lose pretty much all the rest of the toss ups, so long as he does not lose any of the solid or leaning states.

8:28 p.m. -- In honor of our own Kent Pitman, I must now comment on the Jessica Yellin hologram on the MSNBC set.  This is the bigest CGI travesty since the Eric Bana version of the Hulk.

8:30 p.m. -- CNN calls New Hampshire for Obama.

8:35 p.m. -- MSNBC calls Georgia for McCain.

8:39 p.m. -- MSNBC is reporting over 70,000 people with tickets in Grant park.  Trust me, downtown Chicago tonight is a madhouse.

8:43 p.m. -- okay, so because I was watching CNN I was totally behind on the Kay Hagen thing.  I will be staying on MSNBC now, braving the bad set and CGI tomfoolery.  And I like that they show the count through most of the commercials.

8:51 p.m. -- They keep interviewing David Axelrod, and I think he may be running out of ways to say the same thing -- "we're going to WIN! Nyah nyah!

8:53 p.m. -- MSNBC is inerviewing Tom DeLay.  I can't get to the clicker fast enough.  I switch to CNN just in time to see them call the NC senate seat for Kay Hagen.

9:00 P.m. -- more poll closings.  Something is still the matter with Kansas, but NY goes Obama.  Michigan too. Minnesota as well (good job Turtle!), and Wisconsin and Rhode Island.  North Dakota to McCain, as well as Wyoming. And ARIZONA IS TOO CLOSE TO CALL!

9:03 p.m. -- North Carolina is looking good, so is Florida.  McCain's lead is dwindling.  With about a 65,000 vote lead, and with NoVa still to report, we're looking good.

9:06 p.m. -- Chuck Todd is breaking it all down in NC.

9:09 p.m. -- I think Chuck Todd is wrong about Virginia.  I think it is going to go to Obama.

9:11 p.m. -- I've been drilling down into the county numbers on Virginia from CNN.  Only 23% of Fairfax County is in, only 20% of Falls Church, only 10% of Arlington County.  There are more than enough votes there to make up the gap between Obama and McCain.

9:14 p.m.  -- Hubby plies me with chocolate.  Good hubby.

9:22 p.m. -- I am SO OVER this "flipping a red state" rhetoric.  McCain's lead is less than 25,000 votes in Virginia, and OHIO IS FOR OBAMA!

9:24 p.m. -- The total count for electoral votes is Obama 195 to McCain's 76.

9:28 p.m. -- More drill down on VA:  Loudon and Prince William counties, which are the exurb counties just outside the beltway, are currently at about 32% of precincts reported, and OBAMA IS LEADING in both counties.  That is big.  Loudon and Prince William were reliably GOP last time.

9:31 p.m. -- should also point out that Loudon is one of the fastest growing counties in VA.  HUGE development out there in the last four years.  That bodes well for Obama.

9:32 p.m. -- New Mexico for Obama!

9:38 p.m. -- West Virginia goes to McCain.  If we had won there, it would have been unbelievable.

9:41 p.m. -- I field a worried phone call from my high school chum in New York.  Yes, my dear, Virginia WILL go blue.   I will call it before anyone else.  You heard it first on OPEN SALON!

9:43 p.m. -- Let me explain why i think VA goes blue....There are still a lot of votes outstanding in Prince William County.  Stafford County's initial returns have just started coming in and they are very, very close.  Closer than they should be if McCain wants to win in VA.

9:48 p.m. -- CNN looks at the popular vote....Obama is only 320,000 or so votes ahead.

9:49 p.m. -- CNN is pretty much presuming an Obama win at this point.

9:52 p.m. -- Bill Bennett is talking about how "lucky" Obama is to be doing so well.  I may lose it here people.  Must get some reinforcements -- Doritos.

9:57 p.m. -- Dammit.  We are out of Doritos.

10:00 p.m. -- Iowa to Obama. UT to McCain.  Obama 207 to McCain's 129.  MT is too close to call.  NV is too early, but Obama leads.  Lead for Obama in FL extends.

10:03 p.m. -- McCain's lead in Indiana is only 9,000 votes.  Good god, who'd have thunk it?

10:06 p.m. -- It is starting to sink in that the United States of America may actually elect Obama President.  Wow.

10:07 p.m. -- MSNBC is reporting about the McCain now "LOSER" party. Go ahead and put on a brave face, McCain supporters.  But it's our night.

10:10 p.m. -- Amendment 48 in Colorado bites the dust.  And the anti-abortion measure in South Dakota also does not pass.  So much for the "culture wars."

10:13 p.m. -- Chuck Todd is liking Florida for Obama.

10:17 p.m. -- Rumors circling that Oprah is at Grant Park.  Hubby starts to wonder when Obama will go on Oprah's show...

10:18 p.m. -- We make a brief switch to Faux News, to watch the funeral.  I ask my husband for the channel, and he gives me the digital non-HD channel. "Isn't there an HD channel?" "Do you really want to watch Fox in HD?" He replies.  Point taken.  Brit Hume in HD would scare me.

10:21 p.m. I can't believe I have spent four minutes watching the Foxers talk about the value of Sarah Palin and how it's the mainstream media's fault Palin didn't catch on.

10:25 p.m. -- Suffolk County in Virginia is finally coming in....one of two counties that until about 10 minutes ago hadn't reported.  And it is going for Obama.  Fairfax is still only 60% in.  Both Loudon and PW counties went for Obama at 53% and 55% respectively.  Look for Virginia to get called sometime in the next half hour.  For Obama.

10:31 p.m. -- Here's where the commentary starts to get wonky and boring.  We're a half hour away from anything new happening.

10:33 p.m. -- I think someone needs to give Bill Bennett a big chill pill, and if he says "economic cataclysm" one more time, I think Anderson Cooper should garrotte him.

10:41 p.m. -- Obama splits Nebraska with McCain.

10:52 p.m. -- You gotta wonder about the relationship between Rachel Maddow and Pat Buchannan.  Does she think of him as some crazy old uncle?  They've had these two paired up at every opportunity and it's been great to watch.

10:56 p.m. -- Tossing up a short prayer for the 11th District of Virginia.  Gerry Connelly is in a tight race with Republican Keith Fimian.  This is my district and I want it BLUE DAMMIT!

10:58 p.m. -- May  I state for the record that I called Virginia before Fox or BET OR MSNBC?  Just sayin' is all....

11:00 p.m. -- NBC/MSNBC Calls the race for OBAMA!

 11:01 p.m. -- And there was much rejoicing.

Thanks for coming.  That's all I got.  What more is there to say?