The campaign is over, except for the ground game about which we can only get glimpses, but we can still read the tea leaves and speculate as we wait for results to come in later tonight. 

Our live blog begins at 7 Eastern, including John, Beege, Ed, and of course, me. Ed will have the serious analysis, Beege will be emoting in the most entertaining way possible, I will be...who knows? drinking?...and John will be adding color commentary. 

Still, with so much at stake and so little actual data, I am grasping at every little thing to get a sense of what tonight and tomorrow will look like. If we are lucky, we will have strong indications of who will win tonight, but I am done predicting. I am guessing and hoping. 

Biden will not attend Harris election night watch party https://t.co/hUYiQDPEug

— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) November 5, 2024

One hopeful sign, I think, is the fact that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will be nowhere near each other tonight. Joe is going to spend tonight with Jill in front of a fire, watching MSNBC. 

Harris is hosting a watch party at her alma mater, Howard University, which is located less than 2 miles from the executive mansion, but her boss will not be among the attendees.

The relationship between Biden and Harris has appeared strained throughout the election, with her seeking to distance herself from the administration by promising to “turn the page” and usher in a “new way forward.” Another slogan, “We are not going back,” further cements the image she wants to cast as an agent of change.

Yet she still owes her status as vice president to Biden, who chose her for the position in 2020 and who endorsed her to be the Democratic nominee immediately after dropping out.

I hope he will be whispering or shouting, "I TOLD YOU SO!" 

It is hard to read TOO much into Joe's schedule because Joe is an old man who probably would rather be asleep than listen to Kamala Harris cackle or cry or shout hysterically at her aides if she comes up short. I am sure that Kamala is as unpleasant to work for as they say--you don't lose 9 out of 10 staffers so quickly if you are a joy to work for, so if she loses, I doubt that anybody will want to stick around. 

More than a few Harris staffers will be glad it is over, although a prestigious White House job softens the blow of your bosses' tantrums. 

(Just one year, and I can get a 7 figure job!). 

Reportedly, Joe and Kamala are not good buddies, and Jill certainly is not a fan. So, I guess that the distance between the Harris/Emhoff clan and the Bidens will be a relief to both parties. 

In my gut and in my heart, I think Donald Trump will pull this off--the most remarkable comeback in American electoral history, given the opposition he has faced from both the Democrats, the legal system, and the establishment. In my head, I know it will be a close call. 

So we wait, and not in such sumptuous surroundings as Joe and Jill Biden. But also not exuding the stench of flop sweat like the Harris crowd is right now. 

I have a bottle of champaign chilling if I get to celebrate tonight and a bottle of bourbon with which to drown my sorrows. 

Let's hope I get to pop the bubbly.