From the horse's mouth this morning.
Watch news at 6:30-7:30.
There is a quaranteen on reporters who are sitting waiting for exit poll information - sequestered in a windowless, no communication room until 5 p.m.
But Indiana and Kentucky close at 6 pm. Three seats in Indiana and 2 in Kentucky. If they go Democratic - then that is the major trend. If it is very close on those races, or split - then it will be a long night.
What time are the nation-wide results going to be available sumac?
Obviously, not until the polls are closed in the west. Barring problems with the voting and machines. Late evening.
BUT
"Early Night for Poll Watchers?
Key Races Expected to End in Prime Time Unless Glitches Arise
By Jeffrey H. Birnbaum
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 7, 2006; A06
No matter who triumphs today -- Election Day -- supporters of both political parties and will have something to be happy about: They probably will not have to stay up too late to know which way the midterm elections are heading.
"The key races in Congress are concentrated in the Eastern and Central time zones, so we ought to have a good sense of the trend relatively early in the evening," said Amy Walter of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.
In the Senate, Democrats would have to gain six seats to win a majority, and all but one of the most competitive races are in states in the East or Midwest: Virginia, Tennessee, Missouri, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Ohio and Maryland. The single nail-biter farther west is in Montana.
Most tossup House races are also clustered in states east of the Mississippi River. By watching the fate of Republican candidates in Connecticut, New York, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio, political enthusiasts will have a good idea whether Democrats will win the 15 seats they need to take control of the House, analysts say.
That is, of course, if everything goes smoothly. And things rarely do. Uncertainties about electronic voting machines and hassles over identifying registered voters could make early predictions about the election precarious.
Nonetheless, there will be plenty of guessing as the night goes on.
Broadcast networks plan to confine their reports to a single hour starting at 10 p.m. Eastern time, hosted by their national news anchors. ABC will also feature the midterm elections on "Nightline" from 11:30 p.m. to midnight. In addition, the broadcast channels will do live cut-ins throughout the evening when major results become known.
Political junkies will demand a lot more information than that. For them, cable news channels and Web sites will fill in the gaps.
The cable channels are scheduled to provide their usual blanket coverage all evening and into the wee hours. This year, in addition, the Web versions of most major publications and news outlets will constantly update their online election results. Cyber surfers will be able to pop onto a wide variety of Web sites as often as they want and track every tick of the electoral totals.
"If you wake up at 3 a.m. in a cold sweat, you can go to your computer for the latest results," said Rajiv Chandrasekaran, The Washington Post's assistant managing editor for continuous news. "People can also wake up first thing in the morning and do the same thing."
For people who want their beauty rest, however, a few contests with early poll closings can be seen as harbingers of things to come. As Kentucky and Indiana go, analysts say, so will go the House. And the good news: The polls in both states will close by 7 p.m. Eastern time.
Nathan L. Gonzales of the nonpartisan Rothenberg Political Report recommends looking at Kentucky in particular. If Rep. Geoff Davis (R) is defeated by former representative Ken Lucas (D), Gonzales said, "the GOP is in serious jeopardy." If Reps. Anne M. Northup and Ron Lewis, both Republicans, also lose, Republican losses in the House could be sizable, he added.
Another bellwether is Indiana. Three Republican congressmen face tough reelection fights there: John N. Hostettler, Chris Chocola and Michael E. Sodrel. Hostettler has been all but given up for lost. But if Chocola, Sodrel or both also go down, the Republican majority in the House will probably fall with them, analysts agree.
Walter of the Cook Political Report sees the electoral fate of Sodrel, a freshman who is facing former representative Baron Hill (D) for the third time, as one of the nation's best predictors of the partisan direction of the House.
"If a Democratic tsunami is hitting, Republicans could realistically lose the majority before the polls close in the 8 p.m. states," such as Pennsylvania, Gonzales said. "But if Republicans can escape these early states down by only three or four seats, it should be considered a moral victory." "
Democrates 1 Bush 0
The greatest asset the democrates had in this election was George Bush. He was too great a handicap to overcome.
It will be interesting to see what the WH has to say (or spin) today after they spent all that time and energy claiming the dems wouldn't win and they were not planning for any contingency in case they did.
The frontpage of the (conservative) London Evening Standard (First Edition):
The right rose on the basis of spin, demonization, swift-boating, and similar. However, in the end, the public recognized that there was negative substance on the right. Thus, a healthy change is taking place.
I think the dems still have a chance at the Senate. Watching Virginia and Montana...
What are you talking about Duck...
Some people think the Republicans still have a chance in Montana and Virginia.
Viriginia is over and Webb is the winner. There will be a recount, but history shows that although the margin is small, it is insurmountable to overcome during a recount.
I also believe that Montana is over, and the Democrats win.
The Democrats have won the Senate (just like I said they would).
au wrote: The greatest asset the democrates had in this election was George Bush. He was too great a handicap to overcome.
Bush continues to maintain that "we're going to win in Iraq." He still doesn't get the message of the American People. What a dork!
ebrown, I think Montana is more certain that Virginia. Virginia still has 3 precincts out where Montan only has one left to report.
cicerone imposter wrote:au wrote: The greatest asset the democrates had in this election was George Bush. He was too great a handicap to overcome.
Bush continues to maintain that "we're going to win in Iraq." He still doesn't get the message of the American People. What a dork!
It all depends on what he considers as a win. You must remember. The man is delusional.
I would like to think that this election was not a slap in the face at George Bush. I want to believe that the American electorate is not that shallow with their vote.
I go with the post mortem offered by the Washington Post, nobody's idea of a conservative media outlet. They said today that the Democrats didn't serve to win--they offered virtually nothing to the electorate other than the fact they are not Republicans--but that the Republicans deserved to lose.
Republicans and the administration have done a commendable job with the economy and taxes and national security and have a few other noteworthy accomplishments, but the combined negatives of impotence on illegal immigration, the unpopular war in Iraq, arrogance with their earmarks and other discretionary spending, the bungled handling of Katrina, and the rash of "October surprise" scandals did them in. They forgot who put them in office in the first place and turned a deaf ear to our complaints. Thus I think this was a vote of ideology against both the GOP and Dems but the GOP was punished because they had the opportunity to do something about it and didn't.
If there is a silver lining to this, it will be that the GOP will see the error of their ways, clean up their act, and return to the principles and vision of the 1994 Congress that put them into power in the first place.
Meanwhile, congratulations to the Democrats. You won fair and square.
That king George is dilusional can be blamed on the republican congress for rubber stamping everything the king wanted.
Quote:You won fair and square.
You're kidding, aren't you?
Miller wrote:Quote:You won fair and square.
You're kidding, aren't you?
No, I'm not kidding. There were dirty tricks aplenty and no doubt voting irregularities in lots of places, but I also have enough faith in the system that I don't believe a wave as massive as yesterday's election could be accomplished by dishonesty alone.
The GOP deserved and received a good thumpin' as the President put it. I only hope they wake up, smell the coffee, and get back to the fundamentals in time to retake the majority before all the good that has been accomplished can be undone.
fox wrote: "... before all the good that has been accomplished can be undone."
Please detail for us "all the good that has been accomplished."
War in Iraq
Economy
Job creation
Seven million more Americans who lost their health insurance since 2001
Wages not keeping up with inflation
Terrorism increase around the world
and
Bush's dilusion about bringing democracy to Iraq
