It’s after 2 a.m. and yes, I’m obviously still up. I can’t seem to close the lid on my PowerBook. The house has finally gone dark, save for the glow of my favorite computer.

Despite the polls I was having a hard time believing Florida could go blue this year. But here you have it from CNN:

If you look at the little peninsula under the “m” in Tampa on the map, you’ll be looking at Pinellas County. Hillsborough, the county immediately to the east, went for Obama by a narrow margin (one or two points the last time I checked). My Pinellas peeps favored Obama by nine points. I’m officially surprised.

I’m also a little surprised by the results in Orange and Osceola Counties, the patch of blue just east of Hillsborough, in the middle of the state. If I recall, Orange County was a pretty close split in 2004, but I have a hard time not seeing it as pretty damn conservative – my impression from living over there for a year in the mid-1990s. We lived there during the 1994 mid-terms, and I remember a lot of celebration over the GOP take over of congress. That, and it seemed the local news was REALLY in the tank for the GOP. Did you see that youtube video of an Orlando station anchor asking Biden if Obama was a Marxist? It fit my image of Orlando news.

Ah, but the icing on the cake is hearing Tom Feeney lost his seat in the US House.

All in all a two point win statewide isn’t exactly a rousing endorsement from my fellow Floridians, but it’s enough to make me happy.

CNN calls it at 11 as the polls close out west. Cheryl’s been saying for two hours that she needed to go to bed… in twenty minute intervals. She’s still up. I can’t blame her. I’m projecting I’ll be awake for at least another couple hours.

Our long national nightmare is over. Say it with me. Barack Obama is going to be the next President of the United States. I can’t squeeze my wife because of the accident, so would any of stand in? I’m giving all of you a virtual hug.