TVSquad

Well, at 11:00p/10:00 Central, with the polls having just closed in California, Fox News Channel officially projected Barack Obama to win the presidency by taking California and jumping to 297 projected electoral votes. It was nice of them to make the projection exactly on the hour. Everyone likes a nice round number.

Then, the election panel said that no one could have predicted this even a year ago, but 24 predicted it seven years ago with President David Palmer. That's a sister station, Fox. Didn't you see it? This year they're saying they can see a woman president. Does that mean Clinton in four or eight years? Palin in four? Oprah?

After it was called for Obama, we got 1/3 of the top screen for the panelists and the other 2/3 panned around the crowds in Chicago screaming ... for more than ten minutes! I guess they were looking for Jesse Jackson, and after fourteen minutes of searching they found him. And then the crowd calmed down. Buzzkill! When he cried a bit later the cameraman was there. Of course.

At 10:18p/9:18 Central, John McCain officially conceded the election to Barack Obama. His supporters booed Obama's name, which McCain tried to quell. He bowed out with class and grace, and even more importantly, Fox News stayed the hell out of his way and allowed him to give his speech with no interruptions. He was too clearly reciting a memorized (or teleprompted) speech, but I'll forgive him. It's a difficult moment.

After his speech, I got to watch all the fancy graphics they came up with to flash the words "Obama Elected President." across the screen. I worry for anyone sensitive to Pokemon-induced seizures watching the coverage tonight on Fox News. There's so many lights and flashes and flickering graphics, it's enough to give you a headache.

The new President-Elect came out just before midnight Eastern time to give his own speech to a huge reception in Chicago. There were folks in the crowd responding like we were in a black Southern Baptist church and Obama was preaching gospel. His charisma shone through and really electrified the crowd. His crowd cheered the mention of McCain, but considering what side they came out on they'd probably cheer anything. "This morning, I ate a bowl of Cheerios." (CHEER!) "My wife is wearing a red dress. Look at how red it is." (CHEER!)

During his speech, the cameras again found Jesse Jackson and this time Oprah Winfrey as well. And Obama mentioned that he would be bringing in a new puppy with him to the White House. Remember when the Clintons, who were cat people, got Buddy for the White House. Is there an unwritten rule that you need a dog to be President? Did Ralston-Purina push a secret bill through Congress?

I'm going to give Fox News credit for keeping it fairly light throughout this election night, which didn't drag nearly as long as the last two. With Megyn caressing her big screen, roaming around the set and Brit rolling around on his chair and handing out cookies, they had to do something to overcome all the technical difficulties they had there in the basement and keep our attention. Shiny graphics only get you so far.

As much as everyone cites Fox News Channel as a right-wing news outlet, I think things were pretty impartial tonight. They had their "Balance of Power" segments looking at the shifts in the House and Senate toward an even stronger Democrat presence. But nowhere did they throw up a banner that said "America Gets It Wrong" or "Wake Up America!" or "Obama Is A Terrorist!" so I certainly appreciated their restraint.