American election night

 After months of political campaigning, lots of corrosive TV ads, and three high-level debates, it was finally time for election day. It started in the apartment block, where the concierge asked if I was going to vote - and was a bit shocked when I said "no". It continued in the bus, with the driver repeating at each stop to remember to vote. However, I did not see the long lines of voters.

It proceeded in the evening with an "election night" in a local theater with a lively crowd of Americans, 90 percent Democrats, as is typical in Washington DC. The main news channel was CNN, which seemed to me to be a bit slow in announcing the results. Maybe it was more cautiousness, in light of the mistakes made in previous elections. 

The results came in state-by-state, as the voting closed according to each state's practice. The big moments where went CNN was making projections. Each state coming in blue, the color of the Democrats, was greeted by loud cheers, while the red states, the color of the Republicans, were almost booed. Still there were many yellow states, which were too close to call. In between the announcements, there was music, food and drinks. All in all, I thought the crowd was quite civil.

Obama and Romney needed to reach 270 electoral college votes to be elected. After every projection, the numbers reached by candidates would be adjusted. After winning several swing states, such as New Mexico, Nevada, Wisconsin and Iowa, CNN announced after 23pm their most anticipated projection: BARACK OBAMA re-elected President, since he had won Ohio. Cheers, claps, hugs, champagne. It was party time !

It was then time to go to the White House and celebrate with the American people. Quite a good crowd, mostly young people and students. Here again, happiness and togetherness were the key words. No exhuberance, maybe because of the very cold evening... 

After this long and difficult campaign, the work of putting America back on track awaits the President. Good luck to him, good luck to America. Shall I finish by God bless America...