Election Fun

So, we have a new president elect, and I for one am very pleased.  Months ago, my dear friend Shawn and I made plans to watch the results together, optimistic that we would be tearful and happy and that such an occasion warranted a party.

And so we gathered in my living room to watch and analyze.  Lucky for Tom and me, Shawn is a political history professor, and thus is a veritable font of knowledge about this and past elections.  He kept us up to speed as the results started rolling in.  

Before he even arrived, Tom and I had questions for him.  What happens to all of Obama’s leftover millions in campaign contributions?  Answer:  some is returned to donors, some is used for other DNC candidates, some is stashed for 2012.  Also, did you know that in the first few elections, the winner became president and the person with the next highest number of votes became vice president?  This worked fine when the founding fathers were basically on the same page, but in 1796 Jefferson and Adams clashed and a new system was needed.  And then my mom called and had her own question for Shawn.  She wondered why blue states used to mean republican and red states were democrats.  Shawn confirmed she was right, and that it switched at some point recently, but none of us were sure when or why.  Interested?  See here.

It was a fun night of great conversation, much silliness, and a few tears of joy at the end.

Here is Shawn showing off his electoral map – on which he accurately predicted 49 out of 50 states!

And here is Tom being silly, wearing the scarf I knit for my mom for Christmas and flanked by Lila’s monkeys: