Election Night bloggin 1

It’s amazing how little you can learn by watching election night coverage, how the general chatter offers some numbers, some polling and not much else. The question remains as to whether Barack Obama can win some states that haven’t gone Democratic in years — if ever — and if Obama can not only win but push to a 320-plus electoral majority and 55 percent of the popular vote. If he can get to that, I think he can plausibly claim a mandate for the agenda he’s outlined for his presidency.

Plus, we are looking at three pickups in the U.S. Senate for the Democrats, giving the party 52, plus the two independents that caucus as Democrats (though one, Joseph Lieberman, may not stay on board). The magic number, of course, is 60 — the number needed to prevent Republican filibusters.

Author: hankkalet

Hank Kalet is a poet and freelance journalist. He is the economic needs reporter for NJ Spotlight, teaches journalism at Rutgers University and writing at Middlesex County College and Brookdale Community College. He writes a semi-monthly column for the Progressive Populist. He is a lifelong fan of the New York Mets and New York Knicks, drinks too much coffee and attends as many Bruce Springsteen concerts as his meager finances will allow. He lives in South Brunswick with his wife Annie. View all posts by hankkalet