Wednesday Afternoon Update

President

As of right now, it appears that Senator Obama will win 364 electoral votes. However, the results are not yet final in North Carolina (Obama leading) or Missouri (McCain leading). Obama’s win in the popular vote appears to be between six and seven percentage points. This is right in line with the final tracking poll update. Overall, whether this is technically a “landslide” or not (a landslide is usually defined as 375+ electoral votes), this election clearly represents a mandate for President-elect Obama.

Senate

The Democrats have picked up at least five seats in the Senate. There are currently three seats still up for grabs. Looking at the remaining votes outstanding, Oregon looks likely to go to the Democrats, and Alaska looks likely to have retained convicted felon Ted Stevens. The Minnesota race between Norm Coleman and Al Fraken is headed to recount. Therefore, the Democrats will most likely have either 57 or 58 Senate seats, depending on the recount in Minnesota. While not 60 seats, this should be enough seats to pass the most important legislation proposed by President-elect Obama.

House

The Democrats appear to have picked up around 20-24 seats in the House. However, it will be several days, if not weeks, before we know an exact number there. This comes on top of a 30+ gain in 20006. This victory, combined with the presidential blowout, suggest we may be in a realignment. (I’ll have more on that in the days to come.)

Cabinet News

In cabinet news today, it is being reported by several news agencies that Congressman Rahm Emanuel has been offered the job of Chief of Staff to President-elect Obama. There are conflicting reports about whether Emanuel has accepted. Emanuel is a Congressman from Chicago (my former representative) and a former Clinton administration official. He is known as a political bulldog, or the Democratic equivalent of Tom Delay (without the indictments). Personally, I think this is a solid choice. The only downside is that many believe Emanuel was/is the heir apparent to Pelosi as speaker. I’m not all that impressed Pelosi as a communicator (quite frankly, she’s a horrible communicator). However, I suppose that with a President Obama, the core competency in a speaker will be the ability to be effective behind the scenes in rallying the vote. President-elect Obama will be the clear voice of the Democratic party.