I spent most of Election Day listening to the radio and getting more and more optimistic. Then the polls closed and the votes started being counted. I was still optimistic, but it got more and more forced as the night wore on. The timeline:

4:00 pm. The first polls just closed in the east, and all networks are showing Bush ahead, 34-3, by winning several states that were already considered safe for him. Maybe this will shake a few Kerry voters loose in western states, if they haven’t already voted, but the numbers themselves mean nothing. These aren’t “key,” “swing” or “battleground” states.

NBC is showing some Senate results in a crawl at the bottom of the screen, but it’s annoying me because they don’t tell us if the candidates are incumbents, or which party holds the contested seat. I want to keep score! The only one I’m sure of is Bunning from Kentucky. He went nuts earlier this year and is losing, 55-45. (I know of him because he once pitched a perfect game for the Phillies.)

4:30 pm. West Virginia drops its 5 electoral votes in the Bush column. CBS is acting as if this is a big surprise, even though Bush carried the state in 2000. Now it’s 39-3. Looks like a landslide.

Okay, they’re going back to “issues.” Jobs, war, blah blah blah. It’s too late for issues. Let’s have some numbers!

5:00 pm. Polls close in more states. New Jersey goes blue, and other states break as expected, but many others are still too close to call. Kerry takes the lead, 77-66 on CNN, 74-66 on ABC. CBS is the only network willing to call South Carolina for Bush, so they have the president up 80-77.

NBC is showing the raw vote in Florida, which means nothing. With 20% counted, Bush is ahead. Since absentee ballots won’t be counted there until Thursday, according to CNN, I think it’s a little too early to call. (But I’m not afraid. I’ll say Florida goes blue, along with Ohio and Pennsylvania. Wolf?)

5:30 pm. NBC finally calls South Carolina for Bush. Bush now leads, 81-77 on the peacock network.

5:40 pm. CNN has called North Carolina for Bush. It’s now 102-77, Bush leading. Or so they say.

6:00 pm. All the states they’re calling now are states where we knew who was going to win ahead of time. The 155-112 Bush lead in the electoral college means little, because the contested states are still out. They’re even keeping the polls open an extra hour and a half in Pennsylvania. And the polls here in California will be open for another two hours. I don’t think it will take the networks long to put those 55 electoral votes in the blue column.

6:15 pm. With 90% of the Kentucky vote in, it’s a dead heat for Senate now. Bunning seems to have the momentum, though.

7:00 pm. More news that’s no news. Not a single state has switched parties from 2000 yet. It’s 193-112, but I think Bush has capped out. There isn’t much left for him to win. But apparently Bunning is going to hold the Kentucky Senate seat for the Republicans. He’s barely ahead, but there aren’t any more votes to count.

7:50 pm. CNN calls Pennsylvania for Kerry and says it’s a major disappointment for the Bush campaign. It’s now 193-133 for Bush. Come on, Ohio. Come on, Florida. On Wisconsin.

8:00 pm. Polls are closed in California, and with our 55 electoral votes in the Kerry column, it’s now 209-199 for Bush. Or 200-188. Or 197-188. Or 219-199. For the first time all night, all the networks have different projections.

To be honest, I’m not as confident as I was earlier in the evening. Maybe it’s time to stop looking at numbers and start thinking about issues again.

8:38 pm. ABC gives Florida to Bush. Bad news. Now Kerry has to win Ohio and at least two more states. It’s 237-188, they say. I must have overestimated the fear factor that Bush and Cheney promoted. I promise not to get bitter about this.

9:30 pm. 246-206. Ohio still out.

10:55 pm. 249-211. CNN says Ohio is too close to call, and they don’t care what any other network says. Iowa won’t even finish counting their votes until tomorrow, due to mechanical problems and fatigue (they’re too tired to count?). I’m resigned to going to bed without knowing for sure, especially since Ohio won’t count provisional ballots for eleven days.

11:30 pm. CNN finally calls Michigan, Minnesota and Hawaii for Kerry. Bush leads 249-242. Five states to go: Ohio, Iowa, Wisconsin, Nevada and New Mexico. It’s definitely not going to be over tonight. I think I actually believe that now.

While watching all this activity, I’ve spent most of the night chatting with Bonnie on IM. I kept trying to convince her (and myself) that things weren’t going as badly for Kerry as they seemed. It might turn out I was right, but you’d have a hard time proving it with the results that keep sweeping across the TV screen.

It’s probably a good thing I’m too tired to absorb all this and think about what it means for the next four years. I’m proud to live in a blue state, though, whether we end up with a new president or a lame duck. I hope that whichever one wins, he remembers that 50 million Americans voted for the other guy.