Back during the conventions, I spent a lot of time at the "CNN Grill" — CNN's on-site diner and gathering spot, bathing both Denver and St. Paul in the warm glow of red neon and deliciousness, and also camaraderie as journos, pols, delegates and campaign hangers-on descended for a milkshake or a plate of fries and the chance to hobnob with other lanyard-wearing people beneath giant flatscreens broadcasting the Best Political Team in Television. The milkshakes were good, but it was the hobnobbing which was the real fun, and which cemented the CNN Grill as the buzzy center of the action in both Denver and St. Paul. And also, the milkshakes.
So when CNN decided to revive the Grill for election night in its 10th floor Time Warner commissary, , I was delighted, because seriously, those milkshakes were amazing. But it was also a great place to spend that historic night and watch the culmination of such a long (and crazy) campaign. For CNN, it was again a buzzy move, generating not only a dead-tree mention but also what has become the holy grail of PR these days: Twitter buzz. I didn't see Carl Bernstein, Christiane Amanpour or Jamie Rubin (or Cindy Adams for that matter), but I did see Eddie Izzard, Lou Dobbs, Rick Stengel (en route from studio to office for an all-night close), Gail Sheehy (who got an impromptu lesson in Twitter from my pal, FishbowlNY's Glynnis MacNicol) and Hilary Rosen taking a milkshake break with Suze Orman's partner TK (who looks far too young to the lovely Leslie Sanchez, who smuggled me down to the hallowed ground of the 5th floor studio wherein the prophets sat before their laptops and John King laid his hands unpon the Magic Wall and Wolf intoned as the results poured in and the cameras swooped in for the shot.
It was just one place to watch that historic election day unfold, and if you haven't already moved on to 2012 (OMG what will Palin do? Will she campaign in a towel?) then here are some pics and clips of the evening, including the reaction from the crowd when Obama was declared the winner, and when he gave his acceptance speech. Enjoy! Or don't, but that will clearly mean you're anti-hope and anti-change and anti-puppy.
The magic of the hologram, combined with the magic of closed-captioning! Oh, CNN Grill, what can't you do?
Who says print is dead? Checking the election results on the NYT homepage. (Actually it's an interesting screenshot because it's a headline that you would never see in a paper pubbed only once per day. This headline, on the other hand, is clearly a bit more exciting in print.)
Bloggers! Doing what comes naturally, yo.
Mayhill! What an interesting woman she is. I love how she moved the needle during this election. But aside from being a gonzo citizen reporter, she's also a keen observer and an insightful (and smart) writer and has a huge body of work from this campaign. I count her among the people I honored here.
Discover blogger Melissa Lafsky is wearing red because she is really, really, really hoping for a Sarah Palin vice-presidency. (Just kidding. Trust me, if you know her then you'd know that.)
Glynnis shows Gail Sheehy, author of Passages, how to use Twitter. I know she is also Vanity Fair writer Gail Sheehy and Hillary Clinton-chronicler Gail Sheehy, but Passages was in a pile of books in my parents' room during my formative years, and that rainbow cover has stayed with me.
Smiley Jon Friedman wishes you a Happy Election!
Sometime-political prognosticator Julia Allison, dressed thematically in red, white and blue, and wondering aloud who the fetching young man in the red tie was (it was Gloria Borger's son, Evan).
John King and Campbell Brown talk about election-related stuff. In the background, Magic Wall creator Jeff Han was on hand should anything go wrong (we saw him and said hi).
Mel watches the returns anxiously. Multiply her face times a million and you've got how Al Franken will be watching that recount.
With my aisle-crossin' pal, Leslie Sanchez (prior to her 12-6 a.m. shift). She then smuggled me downstairs into the 5th floor, which brought me back to this. Good times. Here's my enthusiastic (if short-lived) vid of the experience:
Tour of CNN Election HQ with Leslie Sanchez:
(Fearing eviction and/or accidentally falling into Wolf's shot just as he was about to call the election, I kept it to surreptitious photos for the rest of my visit.)
This guy controlled that giant swooping camera that zooms in on Wolf. On a crane-like thing. I'm sure there's a technical term, but "crane-like thing" will have to do.
Wolf takes a moment in the Election Center, as the pundit-bench waits for the next soundbite. Hi, back of Jeff Toobin's head!
Makeup room. Look how many brushes it takes to give Anderson Cooper his signature glow!
The studio, abuzz with energy.
More buzzing.
Wolf declares Obama the new president, and the place goes nuts.
Scene @ CNN Grill for When Obama Was Called
"Ow! My nuts!"
This was one of my favorite images of the night (next to the First Family walking out together, soon to be made complete by a puppy). I liked the image of Obama, walking forth into the spotlight, facing so many people who had dreamed of this day.
Scene @ CNN Grill for Obama's Speech
O'Biden! The other dream ticket.
All of these people were actually holograms, beamed into Grant Park using exciting new technology.
No one has really latched onto the fact that the Obamas are actually one of the most physically affectionate couples in politics. Ever notice how he's always touching her? The small of her back, her shoulder etc. They stand waving to crowds side by close side, with their arms around each other. There was his almost ass-pat on stage when he won the primaries (overshadowed by the fist-bump), and I recall noticing how different the Obamas' couple-body language was from the McCains following the townhall debate. I think this could be another untapped area of humor about him — all it takes is one Daily Show montage and it's a meme.
Gateway to the CNN Grill. You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.