From the National Jewish Democratic Council:

With your help, the Jewish community voted overwhelmingly for Barack Obama.

We are proud that Obama captured 78% of the Jewish vote, according to exit polls. Despite all the hype that Jewish voters would flock to John McCain, these polls show that McCain only received 21% of the Jewish vote.

This was a decisive election; we sent a clear message regarding the differences between the Obama platform and the policies of President Bush and McCain.

With Obama's victory, we selected a candidate who shares the values of the vast majority of American Jews, including the separation of church and state, a strong U.S.-Israel relationship, and reproductive freedom.

Election after election for the last 36 years, Republicans have persisted in asserting that their nominee would gain a significant portion of the Jewish vote. Supporters of McCain engaged in an unprecedented anti-Obama campaign in the Jewish community. After spending millions of dollars on an ad campaign filled with misinformation and smears, Jewish Republicans once again could not sway Jewish voters.

Photos from yesterday (taken by my wife Joy) of Jacob helping us stand in line and vote in the most exciting election of my lifetime.

The line in Park Slope, Brooklyn:

Jacob and me in line:

After an hour in line, we get to the polling place:

Jacob helping Joy pull the little lever for Obama:

And pulling the big lever:

And, from Daily Kos, the final result:

McCain is conceding. And is giving the best speech of his campaign.

Obama is winning with over 300 electoral votes, as predicted by Chuck Schumer, and is on his way to a landslide.

I have heard for all my life the question, "Is America ready for a black president?"

TONIGHT, the answer is: "YES, by a fucking landslide."

Thank you McCain for a wonderful concession speech. Thank you Obama for one of the best campaigns in history. Thank you America for making history.

Salon.com is calling NY-13 for McMahon.

There is no longer a single Republican Congressional Rep in NYC. Vito Fossella's drunken, bigamist explosion loses one for the right wing. McMahon wasn't my choice for the seat, but better than what the Republicans have offered.

My son jumped up in bed when I woke him this morning and immediately wanted me to carry him out of bed. Normally he likes lounging half asleep in bed for 15 or 20 minutes before getting up. But today was election day and he was excited.

"We don't want to see ANYMORE of George Bush and John McCain," he keeps saying.

About a month ago he asked for an Obama button. Well, I figured he just wanted to be like mom and dad. But it went beyond that. He was PROUD of that button and showed it off at his childcare. He'd quiz people on who they supported,

He has been dreaming about election day with an excitement that rivals his anticipation of his birthday.

Will the 2008 Blue Wave sweep out the ossified obstructionist Republicans in Albany? Will a Democratic take over of the State Senate actually help to clear out Albany's political constipation or will the likes of Shelly Silver STILL keep things dysfunctional? We will soon find out. But what is clear is that there are three particularly good candidates Democrats can support for State Senate who would definitely improve things. And the NY Times has endorsed all three.

NY Times State Senate endorsements:

Third State Senate District on Long Island: Voters have a good choice in the Democratic challenger, Brian Foley, the town supervisor of Brookhaven. Mr. Foley has managed to restore the town's good name after decades of rotten Republican rule. The incumbent, Caesar Trunzo, was elected in the Nixon era. His core argument for re-election has boiled down to his pride in being a major conduit for pork. Long ago, he became a living monument to the inertia in Albany. We endorse Brian Foley.

Virginia is one of the top priorities this election. This Thursday there will be a phone banking effort in Cobble Hill to get out the vote for Congressional candidate Tom Perriello and for Barack Obama.

Tom Perriello, running for Congress in the VA-5 district against Republican Virgil Goode, may be a particularly important person for us to get into Congress because of his excellent diplomatic record. After 8 years of Bush’s failed foreign policy, we need some people with excellent diplomatic skills in government to help clean up the mess. Goode is stuck in the Bush/McCain thinking. By contrast, Perriello has a record of diplomatic success in difficult regions. Back when Sierra Leone was one of the world’s most violent hot spots, Tom worked with child soldiers, amputees, and local pro-democracy groups, and played a significant role in the peace and reconciliation process that ended twelve years of violence there. He then became Special Advisor and spokesperson for the International Prosecutor during the showdown that forced Liberian dictator Charles Taylor (who was also responsible for the violence in Sierra Leone) from power without firing a shot. THAT is the kind of diplomatic skill America needs after years of Bush/McCain blunders. After this success, Tom served as a national security analyst for the Century Foundation. He has worked inside Darfur and twice in Afghanistan, so he knows about the hot spots of today. This is the kind of leadership we need in Congress! He is raising record amounts of money to defeat the incumbent Republican. For me, this is a critical pick up opportunity.

The Big Day is finally here!!
Who's going to be our next President?!?!
Come celebrate Super Tuesday at
SideBAR
November 4, 2008
118 E. 15th St. @ Irving Place
The Election Day festivities begin at 7PM with Election Day coverage beginning at 8.
Take your picture with your favorite candidate…Get a free Bud Light for wearing your party's colors….Enjoy Bud Light and candidate inspired drink specials all night…and watch the Presidential race on our 13 HDTV's and 2 Projection Screens!!!
How well do you know your favorite candidate?Play our Presidential trivia during commercials and win prizes! Best of all, there's no cover!!!
Hungry?
Enjoy our RED WHITE and BLUE Menu for only $11.04!! Enjoy Obama and McCain Burgers, a Chicken Palin, or even a Corned Beef Joe with a ice cold Bud Light!
Vote for the SideBAR as your Election Day Headquarters!!!

Harlem4Obama Election Day Volunteer Bootcamp
Saturday Morning at 10AM - October 25 at the H4O Headquarters

Bring Your Cell and Charger
WE MUST MAKE CONTACTS IN BATTLEGROUND STATES FOR BARACK TO WIN!
Cell Phone Banking and Postcard Writing (Phone Bank)
Please come to the Harlem4Obama office for a convenient, friendly place for cell phone banking or postcard-writing.
(If you get tired of doing either activity, we also have some data entry.)

Postcard writers will be writing short, personal messages to voters in North-Central Florida. This postcard campaign has already made an impact on voters there, and in Ohio and Washington State.

Phone bankers will be calling Indiana and North-Central Florida, reaching out to undecided and unmotivated voters, getting much-needed votes at the polls on Election Day.

Harlem4Obama trip to Philadelphia! (Drive for Change) Come join us on our trip to Philadelphia to GET OUT THE VOTE, Saturday Oct 25. We have a bus reserved that will leave from our office, at the corner of 133rd and 8th Ave, 7 AM and return in the evening between 9 and 10 PM.

This was the moment that John McCain sealed not just his fate, but the fate of the Republican Party this year. There will be no comeback in 2008:

John McCain cedes the "health" of the mother to the Democratic Party, thus alienating women voters. But I see something deeper in this clip. It cedes "health" altogether. It admits that to the Republican party, the healthcare crisis is not of concern to them. "Health" is, to McCain and the Republican Party, so unimportant that it gets put into finger quotes. John McCain has just defined "health" as nothing but a rhetorical talking point.