Oh what a night...

I remember Election Night 1992 like it was yesterday. It was my first presidential election as a registered voter. I had seen then-Gov. Bill Clinton three times in person. Sitting in Scott's apartment watching the Election Night returns come in was nothing close to amazing. I was inspired and excited. Very little drama and I remember that feeling of elation when Clinton won. I was so happy.

Fast-forward to last night. Once again, there was a candidate who did more to inspire than candidates past. The night did not hang on a single, to-close-to-be called state. No talk about disenfranchisement, hanging chads or butterfly ballots. It all seemed too good to be true.

As it became clear that Obama was going to be elected President, the attention focused to local races, specifically the race in Assembly District 13. The early returns looked good, but not great. As expected, the Democratic edge in Early Voting was apparent, and we were ahead, but closer than most of us would have liked. It was a harbinger of things to come. As the returns trickled in, the lead narrowed, with the incumbent pulling a slight lead around 10:30 p.m. Then, around 11:30 it happened. The final results were in. Andrew lost. By a little more than 1,000 votes or a little more than 1 percent. He amassed more than 37K votes more than any other winner of an Assembly and even some state Senate races. But alas, the incumbent had just a few more.

Keds and I were devastated. I can't believe Andrew lost. He seems to be taking it in stride. He is obviously disappointed but I know that he'll be OK. He'll run again, and I'll be happy to work with him once again.

Last night was still amazing. Barack's acceptance speech was awe-inspiring and McCain's concession was classy. How many days until Inauguration Day?

Devastated

OK. So maybe I'm being a little melodramatic, but I am seriously bummed bordering on upset that John Edwards suspended his presidential campaign today. It caught me totally off-guard. I didn't expect him to win the nomination, but was expecting him to be in it at least through Super Tuesday and honor his pledge to stay in it through the convention. I believed it especially after Noah left to head up a signature-gathering campaign in Indiana. Just yesterday I received an e-mail asking for money so they could hit a specific dollar amount by the end of the month (thankfully, I held off on that donation).

Of the top three Democrats, he was the one with the vision and the policy knowledge to work through the details and put thoughtful answers to many of the key issues facing our nation out there. Unfortunately, he was completely overshadowed by Sens. Clinton and Obama. I think when Obama threw his hat in the ring, he was to this election what John Edwards was four years ago - the fresh face touting change. As an African-American, he also brought a "rock-star" quality that frankly John didn't have.

The article I read on CNN.com indicated that he wasn't getting enough media exposure to be competitive on Super Tuesday. That was definitely the case - all the major news outlets were essentially ignoring him and focusing on Sens. Clinton and Obama. They tried to downplay the money issue, but lets face it - he didn't have the money to spend on TV advertising so average Americans really weren't exposed to him. By ignoring him, the mainstream media made it a two-person race because a race between a woman and an African-American garners more ratings, sells more papers and drives more Internet hits than a three person race between a woman, an African-American and a white Southern man.

Isn't it ironic that John got more media coverage today than in the last two months?

I know I'll end up voting for a Democrat in November. I know that because John was able to set the debate, Sens. Clinton and Obama plans on a lot of issues are essentially the same. There are some minor differences in there.

On a different note, Ralph Nader is considering another White House bid. I hope he gets a visit from Gov. Howard Dean, MD and gets a good beating. It's because of Ralph Nader in the first place that we've had to endure the last seven years.

PS - On our way to LA this past weekend, when we stopped at a Starbucks in Baker, someone with Nevada plates had a vanity plate "4 Bush 2" I am all for supporting your candidate, but limit it to some bumper stickers and yard signs. Don't pay the money for a vanity plate - that'll be with you for years unless you pay to switch it.