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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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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Other than Chicago or Phoenix, I can't imagine anyplace one would rather be on this historic Election Day than that nucleus of all things political, CNN's Election Center in New York. That's exactly where our MTV News crew was Tuesday afternoon, shooting a segment with correspondent Soledad O'Brien.

MTV News and CNN don't often cross paths, but we are always happy to do so. We recently partnered with the network on our "Night for Vets" concert, and with the youth vote a driving force in what looks to be an unprecedented turnout today, it made sense for us to meet up once more.

I am not sure what I was expecting as we made our way to CNN's fifth-floor newsroom — frantic, frenetic energy, maybe, with the first polls set to close in a few hours? What we got was, you might say, the calm before the storm: a buzz of activity to be sure, but it was controlled, businesslike and, at times, even relaxed.
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The massive stage, with its two dozen American flags waving in the breeze, two fat slabs of bulletproof glass and the sun-splashed Chicago skyline in the distance, is impressive. The gigantic white tents full of thousands of journalists jabbering in hundreds of languages and the miles of fencing and intense security are kind of intimidating. The infectious excitement of the dozens of teens and college kids lined up since daybreak for their chance to attend the rally is inspiring.

But nothing I've seen so far today on the site of Senator Barack Obama's election-night speech compares to the traveling media spaceship known as the CNN Election Express.

Imagine, if you will, a fully tricked-out high-definition TV studio. Then put it on wheels and schlep it around the country for 18 months and 60,000 miles, including more than 2,300 miles in Ohio alone. This afternoon Sway bumped into CNN anchor Don Lemon, who graciously invited us into the bus for a tour.

Once inside, we peeped CNN political reporter Jessica Yellin getting some inside scoop on her phone and ran into Josh Rubin, the lead producer on the Express, who gave us the "Cribs" tour of his cramped, high-tech home away from home. Hitting a button to make a giant HD screen drop down from the ceiling — it was tuned to MTV, of course — Rubin pointed out the 10 other high-def screens along the left side of the bus, tuned to CNN, as well as its competitors. "Everything you can do in one of our bureaus you can do right here on our election bus," said Rubin. "I would rather be here than just about anywhere else."
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Saving Abel might not be household names just yet, but that could all change when the band performs alongside Ludacris, 50 Cent and other superstars on "A Night for Vets: An MTV Concert for the BRAVE," airing Friday at 8 p.m. ET on MTV.

We got a sneak peek at the band's performance during a rehearsal of their song "18 Days" inside New York's Nokia Theatre Times Square. Frontman Jared Weeks plans to send a special message to veterans before their performance — but we're not giving everything away here. You have to tune in to hear what he has to say!

The band should fit right in with the mostly veteran-filled crowd during the show: Weeks was sporting a few dog-tag chains around his neck, which he said were sent to him by fans in the military.

There were four giant chandeliers hanging from the ceiling above the band during rehearsal that we could have sworn were going to fall because of the vibration from the band's rocking. The stage also had what looked like ninja stars stacked on top of one another behind the band. The lighting scheme — appropriately enough — was red, white and blue, except when the guys were bathed in a golden-red glow during their rehearsal.

But why take our word for it when you can see for yourself? Check out our pictures from the run-through, and make sure to tune in Friday night at 8 p.m. ET on MTV for even more.

(Follow us inside the BRAVE rehearsals and see more Saving Abel, after the jump!)

He won. She totally won. At least she didn't fall on her face. Thank God he kept it brief. Does anyone really buy all this "betcha, gosh, golly wow, Joe Six-pack" crap? What was that dude even talking about? It's kind of hard to fail when the bar is set below the bar. Is winking a debate tactic? What about crying? Does it count as an answer if you don't really answer the question and just talk about whatever you want to talk about? Do vice-presidential debates even matter? Is anyone seriously going to be swayed by either of these two?

Those are just some of the rants, raves and rhetorical questions that came up in the MTV News editorial meeting on Friday morning following Thursday night's vice-presidential debate between Republican Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and Democratic Senator Joe Biden. Except for the copious cursing, it was probably not unlike a million other conversations that took place at those now famous Average Joe and Jane Six-pack breakfast tables all across the country.
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This in from MTV News digital producer Megan Warner:

Last night I went to a dynamic discussion at the Tribeca Film Festival on the effect user-generated content (UGC) is continuing to have on the media. The focus of the evening was introducing this Saturday’s first annual Pangea Day, a four-hour international online streaming film/performance fest -- a "YouTube" day if you will, that aims to initiate intercultural dialogue. The idea is that people all over the world will watch the program at the same exact time, be it online or on TV. On the panel were Christiane Amanpour, CNN’s chief international correspondent in NY (and one of my She-roes!), filmmaker and Pangea Day founder Jehane Noujaim, and ex-MTV News correspondent Gideon Yago, who has produced extensive youth-focused television on issues from the Iraq war to sexual health.

One interesting moment came when Gideon suggested UGC now has more influence than traditional broadcast-news coverage (aka Amanpour’s territory):

"I think that it’s very exciting…in part because what is getting out there is so impressionistic, is so visceral, is so raw… I defy any one of you guys to type the word ‘war’ into YouTube and compare it to -- no disrespect [looks at Amanpour] -- the things that you’ll see on the nightly news. And even though it will be uncontextualized, and it will be impressionistic, I think it might be closer to the truth [Amanpour rolls eyes, makes a face, and audience laughs]…"

Amanpour didn’t throw down with Gideon -- but she did draw on her incredible background in broadcast journalism to discuss the impact she thinks citizen-made media can have on world leaders. She left the audience with a challenge: “Basically people have a choice,” said Amanpour. “You can either use this media for its destructive or for its positive power.”

But what’s so new about UGC? Are users really continuing to have an impact on how the news is covered -- or was that all part of a transitional moment in the life of the Net? Beyond celebrity gossip, does what you post online have the potential to make waves?