Doing The Work Of The People - Election Edition!

Some miscellaneous observations after working election night at ABC News in downtown DC.

• The most asinine thing I saw on TV was CNN having reporters reporting via hologram. I saw Jessica Yellin chatting with Wolf Blitzer from Chicago, with this strange blue haze around her. And the camera was careful to pan around Wolf Blitzer's studio, just to prove to the audience that Yellin was really a hologram. To bring home the point, CNN put up a chyron on the screen that read "Jessica Yellin reporting live via hologram". It did look cool - like Princess Leia giving election results. But what did it add to CNN's coverage? Absolutely nothing. A standard split screen would have done the job just as - NO - more effectively, because the audience would have heard what Yellin had to say instead of focusing on watching her glow.
  
  

• The most presidential thing of John McCain's campaign was the last thing he did - give a brilliant concession speech... And does anyone really doubt he'll follow through with his promise to support President Obama?


• With 2008 out of the way, there's no time like the present to start on 2010. One of the many interviews I edited during the evening was with Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK), who chairs the GOP's House campaign committee. Even in defeat, Cole focused on the silver lining for Republicans, and pointed out that Democrats will now be held responsible for everything that happens in Washington, and he boldly (and correctly, I think) predicted that if the Democrats don't move to the center and work with Republicans, that the GOP will pick up a lot of seats two years from now.


• When I walked out of ABC at 1:30 this morning, I could hear people shouting and car horns honking as they left the White House. There were people all over the place - this being about 5 blocks north of the White House, where crowds had gathered. I could not help but smile at the young people's youthful exuberance, and feel a bit sad for them that what they had just lived through was the easy part. Campaigning is one thing - leading is another... and even in a best-case scenario, this 21st Century Camelot is going to be severely tested from day one.


• I got home at 2:30, and to bed around 3 am. I thought surely that my hard day's work would merit me the opportunity to sleep in, right? Wrong. The Empress bellowed at about 7:15. She was racing to get ready for work, and needed her coffee. She needed HER coffee. I'm telling you.... Daddy's been home too long, cuz Mama is getting spoiled!