No question. A zeitgeist moment - and in Grant Park, Chicago a glimpse of the real "real America". Sorry Joe the Plumber. Tonight we are witnessing history, the election of the first African American President exactly 40 years after a prescient Robert F. Kennedy dared to dream of such an outcome. Stop and think just how incredible this is. The robocalls, the Rovian playbook, the name calling: none of it worked, and now the guard is changing. Ok, it's not official yet, but the math is inescapable.  read more »

So at 9:15pm ET when so many hopeful Obama supporters were saying it could be "over" ... well, it's not. Not yet. So far no surprises. Blue states are going "blue", red states "red" - and everyone is still biting their nails over Virginia, Ohio, Florida, Colorado and Missouri. Interesting that Obama chief strategist David Axelrod is talking up Iowa and New Mexico as the most likely red-to-blue flips. Curious who is voting where in Virginia, and what prescincts are in, and where folks are still standing in the rain waiting to vote.  read more »

The mood is electric. Record turnout. Standing for hours in the rain in Virginia. And now the moment of truth. The first results are coming in, while voting continues in many areas of the country. Everyone is trying to read the tea leaves, divine the results from body language of news anchors, exit poll clues, and now the seemingly wistful statement from John McCain travelling "for the last time" on his plane with the media.  read more »

Hurricane Gustav blew the Republican Convention off course Monday, but party activists say it's been an opportunity for John McCain to show leadership under adversity. They're right. Instead of partisan rallies and rhetoric, there are sombre prayer breakfasts and fundraising for the victims. Florida's Republican Party chairman told delegates this morning that the convention was no longer about politics, it wasn't about "winning or losing" - it was all about helping those in need.  read more »

Republicans gathering here in St. Paul are all aflutter about winning diehard Hillary supporters in key battleground states. Not so fast.  read more »

Todd Zwillich, CNC Reporter and host of Power Breakfast, was caught on camera by The New York Times on Tuesday as he jockeyed to question Democratic Senators Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton. As you can see Todd got close to the presidential candidates, though as noted in his blog entry about the encounter, the Senators weren't talking.  read more »

You don’t see too much of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama around the Senate these days. The rigors of the campaign trail hardly leave time for, say, voting on actual bills. But Tuesday both Democratic hopefuls dropped in on the Senate to cast votes on a pair of amendments tinkering with sky-high oil prices.  read more »

This week, CNC reporters were busy as usual covering a presidential veto threat, the National Flood Insurance Program, and new climate change legislation.

While trolling the halls of Congress Jodi Breisler was able to get Gabriel Whalen's question about the relationship between immigration and military strength answered by Rep. Charlie Gonzalez (D-TX). Matt Laslo caught up with Rep. John Salazar (D-CO) and asked him about bringing more transparency to Congress.  read more »

It's the issues, stupid! No seriously, what issues matter to you this November? This week we want you to tell Senators and Representatives - and as many as 2 million public radio listeners - what matters to you! Tell us if you want to ask your question on the air, and how we can contact you. Go to askyourlawmaker@cncnews.org - and check out Craig Newmark's blog on The Huffington Post and get connected!  read more »