It's barely into the prime time block, and Super Tuesday results are only just starting to come in — in this time zone. In newsrooms, on campaign buses and standing by across the nation, TV's hardiest anchors and correspondents have been working since early morning on this Day of Days. Like kids up at the crack of dawn to see what Santa left under the Christmas tree, these journalists — along with their unsung producers, directors, camerapeople and makeup artists — have been waiting for this blessed day to arrive and now that it has it's barely 8 pm and they are barely halfway through it. Some of them are set to be in the chair until 1, 2, 3 am — how the heck will they ever last until the final result rolls in? We asked. Here's what they had to say:
Brian Williams, anchor, NBC News: "Grape-flavored Propel vitamin water. Banana power bars. One ziplock bag full of carrots. And the newsroom rumor is: someone is ordering Mexican."
Campbell Brown, CNN: "Gave up coffee when I got pregnant... but tonight I am breaking down. With the baby, living on very little sleep these days -had my first cup of coffee since I got pregnant. Can't do it without the caffeine tonight, baby!!"
Bret Baier, Fox News: "I am anchoring the 3am-5am show with Jamie Colby. I haven't pulled an all-nighter in quite awhile. I think the adrenaline of Super Tuesday will be enough to keep me going - it IS a huge day in American politics. But, caffeine will definitely be my friend tonight. And as a last resort, my wife, Amy, is going to call me when she feeds our baby, Paul - which usually happens around midnight. That will fire me up."
Kate Snow, ABC News, covering Hillary Clinton: "I just put 4 Red Bulls in my mini-fridge in my office (no joke). I'm also a big fan of venti vanilla soy lattes. Other than that-- PURE ADRENALINE. I've been going on about 2-4 hours of sleep a night for a couple weeks. I made sure I got 7 hours last night. Hopefully that will help, too."
Chris Matthews, MSNBC (via MSNBC spokesperson Jeremy Gaines): "Chris told me that he thinks he'll get back to the hotel around 4am, watch a movie for a couple of hours and then get ready to come back to work and go on the Today show tomorrow morning." (Ed. Who is anyone kidding, Chris Matthews is so excited about Super Tuesday that he'll probably have to be pried off the ceiling for his a.m. call.)
John Berman, ABC correspondent covering Mitt Romney: "I have built up an immunity to coffee...which is unfortunate. So I will have to rely on a cocktail of Airborne and Ricola...along with real Coke (not that sham diet stuff.) I also plan on wearing shoes that are a bit too small, hoping that the constant discomfort helps keep me alert. Finally, I will make a game of trying to snap "glam photos" of the fashion headsets ABC is making us wear."
Jeffrey Toobin, CNN: "Nectar of the Gods - Diet Coke. And sometimes Wolf gives a swig from the flask of Southern Comfort he keeps in his back pocket."
Gloria Borger, CNN (via Jeff Toobin, from the table on set with all the laptops - yep, that one!): "She says that she just finds it really interesting...She adds that she's so obsessed that she stays up at night thinking about it, so tonight is just more fun."
Kevin Madden, Romney national press secretary (technically not a TV person except for how often he appears on the telly. Plus he responded to our email. We figure he counts): "One word: Adrenaline. It's almost impossible to get tired or sleepy with the absolute chaos that defines an Election Night event of crowds and media crush.
One cup of coffee is enough to leave me jittery all day, which doesn't really help when you're doing live interviews explaining delegate counts across the country."
Jake Tapper, ABC News, covering Mike Huckabee: "Actually, Rachel, perhaps you can help me...Does Little Rock have a Starbucks?
Truth be told, I doubt I'll need the caffeine jolt. I'm seriously at the edge of my seat. Everything about this election has been so unpredictable. Huckabee just won West Virginia, man!!! I'm sure my political-geek adrenalin will be in ample supply. Have fun!"