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Obama's Inauguration Speech: Our Rough Draft

Posted 1/16/09 5:40 pm EST by in Barack-Obama, Election, Election Night


Have you always wanted to pen a presidential speech? Do you think the White House transition team lost your résumé?

If you're still angling for the job, we found a way for you to catch the eye of the president's team: Atom.com has a fun little feature called the "Inauguration Speech Generator."

"A grassroots Internet campaign helped Barack Obama get elected," the site says. "Now he's calling for the Internet's assistance one more time — to help him craft the best inauguration speech ever."

So, I decided to put the generator to the test, filled in the Mad Libs-like boxes with important-sounding words like "hope" and "patriots," and voilà! Here's what it would sound like if I got the chance to write Obama's history-making address:

"My fellow Americans, today is a prestigious day. You have shown the world that 'hope' is not just another word for 'country,' and that 'change' is not only something we can believe in again, but something we can actually honor. Read More...

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View From The Press: Watching Obama Make History

Posted 11/5/08 12:38 pm EST by in Election, election 2008, Election Night


FROM YOURHERE.MTV.COM: I wondered if it was the same at the McCain site, but the Obama rally's press area looked like a United Nations congregation. Everyone in their own languages were talking about the importance of this election. One could sense their excitement about the upcoming event. Folks with huge cameras and tall ladders set up shop, and fought for a spot "against the rail." It made me feel like maybe they carried with them the same emotion their countries have for Obama--hope and excitement. One of the news crews had a cardboard cutout of Obama, and photographers crowded and took pictures as if that was their best bet of capturing a clear image of the presidential hopeful--just excited to get started with their important jobs of letting the public know what they were seeing, making sure that you too will see what we saw.

One reporter said "if we win tonight" I said "we?" He corrected himself and said "if Obama wins." I laughed and for a second I felt like we--all of the news crews back there--were all on the same team. They ran to the crowd, back and forth, after every cheer not wanting to miss anything. While I'm sure their quickness helped them capture the news for their employers, I got the feeling that they didn't want to miss anything because they wanted the night to be a complete "I was there" story to tell their grandchildren.

Continue reading more about the rally on YOURHERE.MTV.COM.

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Live-Blogging From 'The CNN Grill': One MTV Newser Snacks On 'CNN Fries' And Waits For Joss Stone

Posted 11/4/08 11:33 pm EST by in Election Night


MTV News' Jim Cantiello will be chilling with the CNN elite all night and sending in live observations. Make sure to check back in for updates!

For better or worse, 24-hour news networks have a huge impact on politics. So what better place to watch the election than in the belly of the beast? CNN invited me and John Norris to the "CNN Grill," an elaborate viewing party at CNN HQ. Truth be told, the recipe of said "viewing party" seems to be three parts party, one part viewing and five parts vodka.

Within two seconds of grabbing my seat on a sofa in the corner, a chirpy waitress named Amber (whose energy is definitely that color) asked for my drink order and gave me a giant menu. Fun! The menu is peppered with fun little "election" tie-ins. In a twist that will surely drive Fox News and Matt Drudge crazy, most of the food items seem to be slamming the Republicans. I can order the "Mudslinger." And I can also order something called the "Mac & Cheese" — clearly a reference to the McCain/Palin ticket.

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McCain Headquarters: Let's Get This Party Started!

Posted 11/4/08 7:40 pm EST by in election 2008, Election Night


McCain HeadquartersAt roughly 4 p.m., they started arriving. Great masses clad in navy blue suits, American flag ties and sensible formal wear. Overwhelmingly white, older men and women (and their kids), VIP passes in hand, packed into the Frank Lloyd Wright Ballroom at the Arizona Biltmore to watch election results trickle in and (they hope) to cheer John McCain on to victory.

About the same time, polls began to close in parts of Kentucky and Indiana, and early on, these Mac backers had plenty to cheer about: eight electoral votes in the bank, and a tight — but trending positively — race in Indiana.

The ballroom is beginning to hum, and nearby, special VIP VIP parties are beginning to get under way in rooms throughout the Biltmore. People are posing for pictures in front of the Straight Talk Express, snapping up $5 McCain/Palin "Victory" pins and beginning to assault the fully stocked bars. The line of limousines is beginning to overwhelm the valet team. Things are starting to happen. ... Finally.

MTV News is at the polls in all 50 states — check out our coverage all day long on MTV and right here on MTVNews.com. Then, tell us why you voted! Comment below, upload video at yourhere.mtv.com, or text VOTE to 66333 with your first name, age, state and a comment about your experience. Your message will appear on our election map and could appear on TV today!

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How CNN Calls An Election: Anchor Don Lemon Breaks It Down

Posted 11/4/08 7:21 pm EST by in election 2008, Election Night


Don Lemon

With reporting by Sway Calloway

Don't expect the major news networks to call tonight's election too early. They've been burned in the past, like in 2004, when early exit-poll numbers leaked, showing eventual loser Senator John Kerry leading eventual winner President George Bush.

That's why, more than three hours before any polls closed, CNN anchor Don Lemon told MTV News that his network is very cautious when it comes to calling an election. In a word: "Accuracy," Lemon said. "We want to make sure that we know absolutely sure before we call anything. And we try not to use that [phrase], 'call anything.' Most of the time, we project. We all learned our lessons from 2000 and 2004. We have to be absolutely sure."

(More about how CNN calls an election, after the jump!)
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Inside John McCain's $685 Buffet

Posted 11/4/08 4:48 pm EST by in Election, election 2008, Election Night, John-McCain


Given that it's only 1:30 p.m. here in Arizona and the first polls don't close for another two and half hours, there's plenty of downtime at McCain HQ, which means it's perfectly acceptable to have some lunch.

Luckily, the Republican National Committee was kind enough to lay out an impressive spread for the assembled media, but there's a catch: You've gotta pay $685.

Actually, the money gets you a spot in the press filing center, which later will be humming with reporters on deadline, but at the moment it's playing host to a rather extravagant buffet.

(The fee was even higher for Obama's Illinois HQ — no word yet on the menu.)
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Nas Records Pro-Obama Song 'Election Night' -- Earlier Today!

Posted 11/4/08 4:42 pm EST by in election 2008, Election Night, Nas


Nas has joined some of his hip-hop peers such as Juelz Santana and Busta Rhymes who became first-time voters in the 2008 election. The Queens MC — who's on tour in Oslo, Norway — was so excited about the election that he got in the booth earlier today and recorded a new song called "Election Night," apparently in the wee hours of the morning. DJ Green Lantern produced and sent MTV News a copy of the record.

"I'm currently on tour in Europe with Nas and we were at dinner last night talking about how crazy it is that we're not in the states on Election Day," Lantern wrote in an e-mail. "Someone quoted his verse from 'Black President,' when he said 'What's the Black Prez thinkin' on Election Night?' And Nas said, 'Set up the mic — I'm gonna speak on that.' And the result is 'Election Night.' "


Continue reading the story behind Nas' new song "Election Night."

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Cynthia Nixon Gets Out The Vote And Fights Gay-Marriage Ban In Florida

Posted 11/4/08 4:28 pm EST by in Election, election 2008, Election Night, Sex And The City


Cynthia Nixon"Sex and the City" star and real-life New Yorker Cynthia Nixon made her way to Florida for this Election Day. Florida Street Teamer Anthony Wojtkowiak caught up with the actress at the University of Miami today, where she was encouraging students to vote.

"I'm just talking to students here, making sure everyone is voting," she told MTV News. "If they haven't, I'm telling them the clock is ticking. Today is D-day. Gotta vote."



Nixon was also there to speak out against Florida's Proposition 2, which would define marriage as being between a man and a woman, effectively banning same-sex marriage. "It's an antigay initiative," said Nixon, who is in a lesbian relationship. Read More...

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John McCain Invites The Media To Stay On His Lawn

Posted 11/4/08 2:45 pm EST by in Election, Election Night, John-McCain


We've made it past miles of manicured lawns, golf courses and gated mansions to the epicenter of the McCain-iverse, the Arizona Biltmore, where in a few hours (or you know, like, 10), Mac will deliver a speech that's either gonna be a real barnburner or a certified bummer.

John McCain's lawn
McCain will deliver this speech on the lawn you see here (he got married on this same spot 24 years ago). ... Exactly four minutes ago they closed it off to the general public, and tonight, a lucky (and heavily credentialed) 2,500 will be ushered inside to watch it.
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Diddy Works The Crowd At Manhattan Polling Station

Posted 11/4/08 12:43 pm EST by in Campaign '08, Diddy, election 2008, Election Night, Street Team


Diddy votesBy Akshay Bhansali

OK, OK. The lines may be a bit of a pain as you queue up to cast your vote for the next president of the United States today. But if his Diddyness can muster up the spirit, so can you! And let's see you try to do it with 10 cameras following you.

Well, perhaps his trip was a bit expedited. In fact, once Sean Combs entered the Coalition School for Social Change, his polling station in Midtown Manhattan, his visit to the voting booth probably clocked in at around eight minutes. And during those eight minutes, Diddy did what he does best: electrify the room. Sullen, drowsy would-be voters were jolted awake. Frowns and droopy eyes were quickly replaced with smiles, hugs and flash photography. Combs was cordial and friendly as many, including an 80-year-old fellow marathon-runner, struck up conversation with the entertainment titan. Read More...

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