Walked home last tonight after a joyful election party in the West Village, NYC--good crowd, wonderful friends, incredible victory. Felt a bit melancholy, in the way you do after achieving something for which you have striven for so long. It's my birthday. November 5th. Marvelous birthday gift from the American voters. 37. Strange age to be. People shout gleefully on sidewalks. Cars honk happily on streets. High fives with strangers. Arrive at St. Marks Place in the East Village. Crowd on the corner. Cheering. Stand on a pay phone, take photos. Walk down St.

Genghis and I both turned a year older at midnight tonight, about the exact same time Obama began his acceptance speech in Chicago. I think it's fair to say that we couldn't have received a better birthday gift. I will never forget this night.

You should have seen the love and camaraderie being displayed in New York, between and among complete strangers who like me just couldn't stop smiling. If a night like tonight doesn't make one proud to be an American, and hopeful for the future, I don't know what could.

Oh yeah ... It feels so good.

The story is also being reported by CNN, Al Jazeera, and FOX News. We haven't confirmed the reports at this time.

Today, I voted for a baby-killing, crypto-muslim, socialist, arugula-munching, elitist, black radical activist.

And it felt good.  It felt damned good.

I just stopped over at the RealClearPolitics election map. The results in truth are tighter than I would like. Obama is still outside the margin of error for 278 EVs, but last week it was well over 300. I'm not really concerned. McCain would have to win all the "tossup" states, among which Obama still leads in several, plus at least one of the "leaning Obama" states. In addition, poll analysis by A-man and FlyOnTheWall gives me confidence that Obama will outperform the polls.

Contrary to President Bush's assurance, he is not the Decider. We the People are the Deciders. Mr. Bush is a temporary employee to whom we have granted provisional authority to govern on our behalf. We the People make such Decisions infrequently but regularly--every four years. And now it is again time for us to Decide.

Today I read an article on the Web that I wanted to share because it jibes pretty much perfectly with my vision of the near future for this country, particularly in relation to its economic, social and political status. It's not a pretty picture. But it's what I see ahead.

FlyOnTheWall is my favorite non-dagging blogger at the TPM Cafe. He/she is the uncontested pollmaster of TPM. If you're feeling anxious about the election or just curious about the accuracy of the polls, I highly recommend his/her latest post.

Some excerpts:

Here's the link to the audio

Palin handler Tracy Schmitt:

"Governor Palin was mildly amused to learn that she had joined the ranks of heads of state, including President Sarkozy and other celebrities, in being targeted by these pranksters. C'est la vie."

Happy Halloween all! Last week, I threw out a bunch of questions I had been asking myself lately, and people seemed to enjoy the post, responding with some incredibly wise and insightful, or at least terribly smartass, answers. So, I figured I'd do it again, maybe even make it a weekly thing. Without further ado ...

1) Will there be more Jokers or Joe the Plumbers out there tonight? (If you're answering this and Halloween is already over, reply with the actual answer)

I've had a number of things on my mind over the last couple of weeks, but I've been quite busy.  There are several topics that I've wanted to write about.  However, I really won't have the time before Tuesday.  I also doubt that anyone will care as much after that, so I've decided to plow through a few them of them as haphazardly as possible.  Here we go!

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Warning: Do not wear near children, pregnant women, or unstable people with weapons.

To print out a lifesize version, download the PDF from 23/6.

The other day, I wrote a piece of snark about Joe the Plumber's brand going global, inspired by an actual quote from a Greek analyst about "Joe the Greek Plumber." Today, I read that the Joe the Plumber has hired a manager. Seriously. Jim Della Croce, president of the Nashville-based Pathfinder Management group, explains his plans for Joe the Celeb's future:

After achieving success in the United States, Joe the Plumber has gone international. According to the New York Times, a senior strategist for the ruling party of Greece said of Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis:

More eloquent than the sermons in Oliver Stone's W. and a heck of a lot shorter.

Some of you may remember my proposal for the Democratic primary to decided by dance contest.

Take a step back from the day-to-day machinations and minutiae of the campaign for a moment. Put aside thoughts about the final stretch of polls and stump speeches and negative advertising and robo-calls and ground games and electoral map strategizing, and consider the enormity of what this country appears to be on the brink of doing one week from now: Electing an African-American to the highest office in the land.

Given the history of this nation, it is a remarkable prospect. It is exhilarating. It is almost unbelievable.

And that is why it is also very frightening.

I tend to avoid political cinema because it's usually unbalanced and heavy-handed, and the art inevitably suffers from the attempt to communicate an unambiguous message. But W. received some decent reviews, has been a box office success, and concerns a subject dear to my heart. I should have stuck to my principles. The best thing about the experience of watching it was the half-hour nap I slipped in between Dubya's decision to invade Iraq because of the alleged WMD's and his shocked realization that there were no WMD's in Iraq.