Watching Obama win with Democrats Abroad

By the time I arrive at Yaletown Brewery to watch the U.S. election returns, at an event sponsored by the Vancouver chapter of Democrats Abroad, things are well under way.

It’s not even 6:00 pm, and Democratic  presidential candidate  Barack Obama has already been called the winner in Vermont, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, the District of Columbia, and Pennsylvania.

At that point, his Republican opponent, John McCain, has only taken Kentucky, South Carolina, West Virginia, and Tennessee.

The place is packed, with a good 200 people shoehorned inside. The air is electric, and filled with optimism for Obama’s chances. All eyes are on the bar’s seven wide-screen TVs, which are tuned to CNN.

Here’s how the evening progressed:

5:53 pm: Kay Hagen defeats Elizabeth Dole in the North Carolina senate race. Loud cheers erupt.

5:58 pm: Alabama is called for McCain. Some groans, but people are still upbeat

6:00 pm: Big, delegate-rich states start to come in. Obama takes Michigan, New York, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin. McCain wins the much- less populous Wyoming and North Dakota.

6:11 pm: McCain wins in Georgia. A few boos can be heard scattered throughout the room.

6:23 pm: McCain is triumphant in West Virginia. More groans, but the crowd is still riding high from the last round of Obama victories.

6: 29 pm: CNN reports that Obama leads 56-43 in Ohio. Lots of cheers and high-fives.

6:34 pm: Obama wins Ohio, and the crowd goes wild. Obama’s momentum is really picking up.

6:42 pm: CNN’s John King reports that it’s now pretty much mathematically impossible for McCain to get the 270 electoral votes he needs to win the presidency. More cheers, and the excitement level is heightened.

6:49 pm:  New Mexico is called for Obama, Louisiana for McCain.

7:00 pm: Obama wins Iowa, McCain takes Utah and Kansas.

7:10 pm: McCain is victorious in Arkansas, the crowd grumbles. A few boos can be heard.

7:19 pm: McCain wins Texas, amid loud boos and catcalls. Even with Texas's generous  number of electoral college votes, CNN’s King remarks that things are now looking exceedingly grim for McCain. This cheers up the crowd.

7:22 pm: McCain takes Mississippi. There are a few half-hearted boos, but by this time everyone knows it’s pretty much over. Now it’s just a matter of waiting for the final call.

7:34 pm: CNN announces that Saturday Night Live alumnus Al Franken is leading Norm Coleman in the Minnesota senate race by three percentage points. A huge round of cheers fills the room.

7:56 pm: Virginia is called for Obama. Another round of cheers, and then everyone’s waiting with bated breath for imminent closing of the West Coast polls.

8:00 pm: California and  Washington come in for Obama, taking him past the magic threshold of 270 electoral votes. The network flashes “CNN Projection: Barack Obama Elected President” and the crowd goes completely wild. A chant of “O-BA-MA, O-BA-MA, O-BA-MA” starts, then segues into “Yes we can! Yes we can! Yes we can!”. Streamers sail through the air, landing on light fixtures, tables, and peoples’ heads. The air is positively electric, and it takes a good three or four minutes before all the cheering, clapping, hugging, and high- fiving subsides enough to hear the TVs again. It’s an incredibly happy moment for the crowd, but you can tell that it’s also a very precise point in history--one of those rarified occasions that everyone in the room will remember forever.