Newseum Exhibits: G-Men and Manhunt

I used my annual press pass at the Newseum in Washington DC to tour some of the exhibits I hadn't seen on my previous visit there: G-Men and Journalists (a collection of FBI artifacts) and Manhunt (about the hunt for Lincoln's assassin John Wilkes Booth).


While neither exhibit is worth a special trip to the Newseum, they are both slickly produced and worthy additions to the overall experience. Of the two, the FBI exhibit is broader and is especially interesting now that the FBI no longer conducts tours of its own building.


G-Men & Journalists
The FBI discontinued public tours of their headquarters building (just 3 blocks down Pennsylvania Avenue from the Newseum) after 9/11 caused an increase in security. Many of the artifacts on display in G-Men and Journalists are on loan from the FBI and have been out of the public eye since then.

It's staged as a collection of about a half dozen of the most famous cases in FBI history, including: the first Public Enemy #1, John Dillinger; the Rosenburg spy cases; the Lindbergh baby kidnapping; the Unabomber; and especially relevant to Washington-area residents, the Beltway sniper shootings that terrorized the DC area in 2002.

Outside of the exhibit are life-size cutouts of J.Edgar Hoover and some famous crime figures. It's interesting to note how short many of them were. Hoover was only about 5' 7" tall.


Some of the artifacts on display are authentic (for example, Dillinger's death mask, displayed outside of Hoover's office for many years; and the electric chair used to execute Lindbergh baby kidnapper Bruno Hauptmann).



Other items are mock-ups made by the FBI to test theories or demonstrate to juries how the crimes were committed. For example, there's a full-size replica of the back-end of the modified blue Chevy Caprice that Beltway snipers John Muhammed and Lee Boyd Malvo used in the killings. The model was built to show the jury how the killers were able to lie inside the car and fire out through the trunk.


Almost by definition the G-Men exhibit is a little grisly and disturbing, as the FBI's mission is to unravel crimes and protect against the darker side of humanity. Oddly though, the artifact I found most unsettling was the handwritten Arabic poem written by Saddam Hussein to his FBI interrogator after the latter had gained his trust, in the months prior to his execution.

Manhunt: Chasing Lincoln's Killer
The Manhunt exhibit on the top floor of the Newseum is based on a book by James Swanson, Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase For Lincoln's Killer. There are many Lincoln-related events this year through April 30 during the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth, including the reopening of Ford's Theater after renovation.


I was slightly disappointed by the lack of depth to the Manhunt exhibit, though I learned some interesting tidbits. (For example, the Newseum stands on the site of the hotel Booth stayed in prior to the assassination, the National Hotel.)


Manhunt is billed as a chance to learn about the assassination and the ensuing hunt for Booth in the same way the American public learned it (via newspaper accounts, fed instantaneously from the telegraph for the first time). But somehow the drama of the hunt doesn't unfold in the exhibit, which compresses the chase itself into some summarized panels.

The exhibit does a better job of succinctly telling the story of the simultaneous attacks on Lincoln, Secretary of State William Seward, and Vice President Andrew Johnson. And the photographs of the conspirators in prison, in special manacles that prevented them from bringing their hands together, are oddly compelling.


(They ignored an obvious tidbit, that accused conspirator Dr. Samuel Mudd, who set Booth's leg after he broke it jumping onto the stage after shooting Lincoln, was an ancestor of long-time CBS reporter Roger Mudd.)

The exhibit mentions that Booth was shocked when, after several days on the run, he read newspaper accounts vilifying him for the assassination instead of proclaiming him a hero as he expected. It's never stated as such, but I wonder if this contributed to Booth's determination to fight to the death rather than surrender as his co-conspirators did.

Ultimately there were two exhibits that I think touched upon the raw emotion of the time. One was the picture of the soldier, Corporal Boston Corbett, who shot Booth in the burning barn where he had holed up. I was struck that the nation appeared to regard him as Lincoln's avenger.

The other was a small, pocket-sized photo given to one of the searchers hunting for Booth. The man had scrawled his acid condemnation of Booth all over the picture, leaving only the face exposed and framed in the careful 19th Century handwriting.

The Final Word
Perhaps my desire for additional depth in the Manhunt exhibit is more a matter of my own personal interest in the subject. The Civil War was when the United States came of age, and Lincoln had an uncommon gift for expression that resonates through the ages. I've always wondered how the course of history might have changed had he lived to begin the arduous task of healing the nation.


Overall, both exhibits enhance the Newseum and complement the other displays, with rare historical artifacts that have been seldom or never shown. Both are scheduled to remain throughout 2009.
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Marbury vs. Madison and The US Supreme Court

I went back to The Newseum in Washington DC today for a discussion of a new book, The Great Decision by Cliff Sloan and David McKean, about the seminal 1803 US Supreme Court case Marbury vs. Madison that established the judiciary as the final interpreter of the US Constitution.

The celebrity speaker was Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, but he really did little more than introduce the topic and ask a few softball questions during the talk. His participation was surely a favor to Cliff Sloan, a lawyer, who served as a Supreme Court law clerk under Stevens and was the former publisher of Slate magazine.


The only things really new was Justice Stevens' surprising vehemence that Presidents should follow the example of Presidents Ford and Reagan, who made the trip to the Supreme Court for the swearing in of new justices, as opposed to having them come to the White House. Though largely symbolic, he felt this was part of the respect to the institution as a co-equal branch of government and for the principle of separation of powers.

Nonetheless, the conversation was engaging and provided a lot of insight into the charged political atmosphere and personal rivalries that surrounded the Marbury case. It also became clear that Chief Justice John Marshall was the driving force who shaped the Supreme Court into the institution that it is today.

Background
On the surface, Marbury vs Madison was about whether a lame-duck appointee to the federal judiciary by the outgoing administration of one party (President John Adams' Federalist Party) would be seated by the incoming Republican administration of President Thomas Jefferson.

But landmines abounded in the case. Marshall himself had been Secretary of State under Adams and a staunch Federalist, and the 1800 Presidential Election resulted in chaos, with the Federalists voted out of office and the electoral college tie between Republicans Jefferson and Aaron Burr decided in the House of Representatives. The nation teetered on the brink of collapse.

Due to an overlap in his positions, in February 1801 Marshall actually simultaneously served as both Secretary of State and in his new role as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. In the former role he was personally and directly involved in the rush to issue the lame duck appointments, handling much of the paperwork and responsible for it being served to the appointees.


The judicial appointments were an attempt at packing the judicial system with Federalists; 16 new circuit courts had been established in the waning days of the Adams administration, and candidates were hastily appointed to these positions and 42 others at literally the final hour.

In the crush, Marshall was unable to deliver all of the appointments, setting the stage for the conflict. Jefferson personally stopped the delivery of the remaining letters of appointment, and William Marbury sued to get the job of Justice of the Peace for District of Columbia.

Though under modern rules Marshall would have been required to recuse himself, under the conditions of the time the only mandatory criteria for recusal was personal financial interest, which did not apply.

A Messy Political Situation
The judiciary was still controlled by the Federalists, and it was widely expected that the Court would rule in favor of Marbury and other similar Federalist petitioners. The new Republican Congress suspended the Court for almost a year, through most of 1802.

Complicating the situation, it's not clear that Jefferson would have complied with such a ruling. The Federalists had rammed through the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798, which sought to suppress criticism of the federal government and protect the country against foreign agents during a period of conflict with France.

The Federalist-dominated judiciary had upheld and enforced the Acts, which many argued were unconstitutional, and so the judicial branch was considered highly-suspect when the Federalists were swept out of office.

In a final twist, Jefferson and Marshall were distant cousins who hated each other. Author Sloan asserts that this was in part because Marshall revered George Washington (having been at Valley Forge with him), and Jefferson was viewed as disrespectful to Washington. In any event, their personal animosity was clear.

The Ruling
So if the Court upheld Marbury's appointment, Jefferson could simply ignore it; and if it ruled against Marbury, the Republicans would be seen as having scored a political victory.

In this super-charged environment Marshall skillfully delivered a ruling that dumbfounded the observers of the day, and is viewed by many as one of the great decisions that firmly established the rule of law.

Marshall ruled that:

1. Marbury was legally entitled to his commission.
2. The law required that the government enforce this proper appointment.
3. But, the Supreme Court did not have jurisdiction in the case because the Congressional law giving it jurisdiction was unconstitutional.

Thus Marshall, who wrote the opinion, was able to criticize Jefferson at length for his actions -- and then nullify the decision while ruling on the constitutionality of a law of Congress. And he did it in a way that was at least nominally self-denying, thus cleverly pulling the fangs of critics.

The Impact
Marbury never got his appointment. But the ruling firmly established the Supreme Court as the final interpreter of the US Constitution, a principle called judicial review, which Marshall explicitly states in the decision:

It is, emphatically, the province and duty of the judicial department, to say what the law is.

According to the Great Decision authors, most newspapers simply published the decision in full without comment. The ruling would send Jefferson into tirades for the rest of his life, as he disagreed with the principle it established.

By giving up a small tactical issue, Marshall was able to win on the much larger question of whether the Supreme Court could review the actions of the other branches, a precedent that would set the case for the many critical cases Marshall would oversee in his 34 years as Chief Justice. He would consistently rule in a manner that strengthened the central government in disputes with states, establishing the power of the federal government.


Miscellaneous
With Marbury vs Madison, Marshall also enforced a new tradition within the Supreme Court, the practice of joint opinions. Previously, each of the judges would issue an individual opinion in each case.

Because of the force of Marshall's personality and his winning, genial demeanor, he was able to strongly influence the Court and wrote the majority opinion in the most important cases.

The Venue
The discussion was held in The Freedom Forum, an associated conference center on the back side of The Newseum. The room held perhaps 300 people, of which about 50 seats were reserved for Annual Press Pass members of The Newseum (the rest were largely occupied by members of the sponsoring organization, The Freedom Foundation, or by The Supreme Court Fellows program).



It's an opportunity to hear and participate in discussions with a highly-interested, learned group. One of the audience members who commented extensively was Maeva Marcus, Director of the Institute for Constitutional Studies and Research Professor of Law at The George Washington University and editor of a book on the predecessor to the Marshall Court, The Documentary History of the Supreme Court of the United States, 1789-1800.

But I'll be selective about attending events due to the extensive travel time required for me.

Other Trivia

• Marbury vs. Madison was issued in the lobby of Stelle's Hotel. Justice Samuel Chase had a painful case of the gout and was unable to walk to the Supreme Court's offices, so in order to have a quorum Marshall moved the Court's sessions to the boarding house where the Justices were staying. Stelle's was located on either the current site of the Supreme Court or right next to it.
• Marbury vs. Madison is highlighted in the Rotunda of the National Archives building, where the original Declaration of Independence, US Constitution, and Bill of Rights are displayed.
• According to Sloan and Stevens, when Stevens was first appointed to the Supreme Court in 1975 and moved to Washington DC, he was asked for his occupation on his voter registration form. Stevens wrote, "Justice." The man taking his application looked at him and then said, "Last week we had 'Peace.'"
• The session moderator got a perhaps unintentional laugh when, in introducing Justice Stevens, he stated that he had ruled on 112 cases regarding freedom of expression since 1975 -- "24 of them in the majority."

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Supreme Court Justice Stevens at The Newseum

I was excited to see that I have a seat for an event next month at The Newseum in Washington, DC, a "conversation" with Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens about Marbury vs. Madison on February 26th.

I mean, to me it's just incredibly cool to be in a live audience watching one of the nine US Supreme Court Justices discuss the 1803 decision that established the Court's role in interpreting the Constitution, and made it a viable part of the checks-and-balances envisioned by the Founding Fathers.

Marbury vs Madison
Prior to the case, the Court had been a minor player in the federal government with a murkily-defined function, but in one fell swoop Chief Justice John Marshall neatly upheld a lame-duck appointment (of William Marbury to the federal judiciary) made by the outgoing John Adams administration in 1801 -- and then voided the ruling by stating that the Congressional law giving the Supreme Court jurisdiction was unconstitutional.

The specific result was far less important than the principle of judicial review that it established, whereby the courts could review and oversee the actions of the executive and legislative branches of government. It also firmly established the Supreme Court as the final arbiter in interpreting the US Constitution, a principle taken for granted today in America.

Events At The Newseum
When I bought an annual pass at The Newseum, I was motivated mainly because I was supportive of their mission and I hoped to return to tour the museum at my leisure. I saw that they offered special members' events but paid little heed, assuming they'd be mostly aimed at kids and families.

I forgot that this is Washington DC.

Within a day I started receiving newsletters, where I found that most of the events are presentations by well-known scholars or journalists, or tapings of discussions for airing on the major networks or pubic television. With the announcement that Justice Stevens would be discussing The Great Decision (a book about Marbury vs. Madison that will be released in March) I felt I had to take advantage of the opportunity.


I don't know how large the audience will be, though I assume it will be in one of the Knight Conference Center theaters that holds a few hundred, but this seems like a great opportunity to finish touring The Newseum and to see how these events are staged. If I enjoy this event I'll consider going to others that cover topics I'm interested in.

If nothing else, this is a chance to gain some insight into the thinking of a man who since 1975 has routinely played a role in deciding some of the most important issues in our country.

Update (2/27/09): Marbury vs. Madison and The US Supreme Court
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The Newseum in Washington DC

The other major thing I did last Monday was to visit the Newseum in Washington DC. As the name implies, it's a news museum, but it's also dedicated to the First Amendment of the US Constitution: freedom of religion, speech, assembly, and the press.


In a town where world-class museums, monuments, and landmark buildings (literally a stone's throw away) are often free to the public, the nonprofit-operated Newseum charges as much as $20 (though children are free or $13, depending on their age).

But if you have a wide interest in news and the world and believe in the critical role that a free press plays in maintaining a democracy, the Newseum is well worth a visit. Some exhibits are surprisingly powerful.

I got the $75 Annual Press Pass, which entitles you to unlimited admission for a year and counts as a charitable donation.

About The Newseum
The Newseum was formerly located in Rosslyn, VA across the Potomac River from Washington, but in 2007 they opened in a glossy modern new building at one of the most exclusive addresses in Washington, on Pennsylvania Avenue a few blocks west of the US Capitol.


On the top floor they have a glass-enclosed observation gallery with an outside terrace that provides a scenic view of the Capitol. Inside, the building is filled with theaters and multimedia exhibits covering the history of news and media from ancient times to the digital age.

The Orientation Film
I found the 15 minute orientation video on the sub-basement Concourse level disappointing, which surprised a staff member who asked my opinion -- she said that most people found it thought-provoking.

Though slickly-produced (as you'd expect at a museum focused on news) and narrated by Charles Osgood's distinctive voice, I found the video long on platitudes and short on substance.

They spent 13 minutes trying to define news in vague terms (as events that tap strong human emotions, such as love, hate, and war), then had a desultory 2 minute overview of what to expect in the museum.


To me this was all obvious and I found the museum guide part mostly unhelpful. In fact, I missed what looked like a fascinating FBI exhibit because I didn't notice it until closing time.

Understanding The Newseum
So here's my version of what I think they should have told us in the orientation video. On a practical level, The Newseum's attractions break down into six distinct categories:

• Interactive exhibits of mostly a lighter, more entertaining nature
• Multimedia presentations in theaters
• Conventional museum collections of historical artifacts and photos
• Architectural elements of the museum itself
• Short-term special exhibitions
• Emotionally powerful exhibits that are probably too intense for children and sometimes adults

It's this last category -- the 9/11 and Pulitzer Prize exhibits -- that was very much unexpected and which means that you should plan your trip carefully if you are visiting with children. It would be best if you engage them elsewhere while you view these exhibits or assess whether they are appropriate for your kids.


Otherwise, though it was alluded to, I don't think they truly made a convincing case for why an uncensored free press -- even if you disagree vehemently with its positions -- is essential for a democratic republic (i.e., acts as the Fourth Estate).

How To Tour The Newseum
If you can devote at least 3 hours to The Newseum, then I'd suggest you start at the top and work your way down, as the orientation film recommends. But it doesn't hurt to get there via the basement (the Concourse Level).

Concourse Level
If you go down one level to the Concourse, there's a section of the Berlin Wall with some photographs documenting the escape across the wall in the Cold War era. But it lacks the emotional immediacy of going through the museum at Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin.


You don't truly feel the desperation of the people trying to escape the East, nor the sense of oppression in West Berlin when the Wall existed -- and the exalted sensation of freedom once it came tumbling down. But this exhibit is a nice start and it looks like they have a lot of room to add to it.

In front of this segment are the doors to the glass elevators (which the film claims are the tallest hydraulic elevators in the world). You can either take these elevators to the top of the building or go through the visiting exhibitions on the other end of the Concourse.

6th Floor
The top (6th) floor has the observation deck and mostly historical exhibits. The observation deck and terrace provide a beautiful view of downtown Washington and Capitol Hill, and as you might expect the Newseum is already sold out on Inauguration Day as a prime location to view the Inauguration Parade route. The terrace has an interesting chronology of the history of Pennsylvania Avenue.


5th Floor
A small exhibit on news in ancient days starts on the 6th Floor and then leads down to more extended historical collections on the 5th Floor.

Most of the exhibits are somewhat dry in tone but I did find it interesting to see an authentic page from one of the original Gutenberg Bibles (though they didn't explain why Gutenberg went bankrupt during their printing). The knotted news threads carried by South American Indian couriers were an interesting twist.


I found many of the historical sections (containing historic newspapers and media) to be somewhat busy, meaning that there was so much material that you either had to really slow down and examine everything closely or else just skim by. It wasn't obvious what was interesting at a glance.

Behind the newspapers was the first large theater, with an ever-changing 100-foot wide screen combining video and static photographs. This was often interesting depending on what was being shown.


4th Floor
The next level is where I found myself truly engaged for the first time, and it was an emotionally harrowing experience. The 9/11 exhibit begins in a conventional way, with the twisted wreckage of the antenna from the North Tower and a soaring wall of blaring headlines from newspapers the day after the attacks.


When you walk around a column you see the battered camera gear and the pictures taken by Bill Biggart, a photographer who lived a few blocks from the World Trade Center and who raced to the scene. Biggart died when the buildings collapsed and as a short film explains, his camera was recovered from the rubble with the jarring photos he'd taken in the last hours of his life.


But it's when you enter a small theater showing a documentary about the journalists who covered the September 11, 2001 attacks that the day suddenly comes sweeping over you.

Interspersing interviews with the journalists with footage of the attacks and the aftermath, the raw emotion of 9/11 is abruptly visited upon you, and I could sense myself and others in the room cracking under the weight. I didn't see anyone who was able to watch more than a short segment.

It has to be deliberate that the exhibit right next to 9/11 is a fluffy, lighthearted gallery of Presidential dogs ranging from George Washington's pooch to the as-yet-unacquired Obama First Canine. If nothing else it's a good place to park the kids.

2nd Floor
I went through the 3rd Floor quickly, which mainly focused on TV and radio news and included the Newseum's own Master Control Room.

Dropping down a level the main attraction of the 2nd floor is the bank of television studios where you can record yourself on camera. Standing before a blue screen you choose the background and the theme (such as a sports or weather report) and then read a script from a teleprompter. This one should be a hit with the kids.


To the side of the studios is an ethics display, and what's cool here is an interactive light projector table that lets you answer thorny ethical questions for stories in a newspaper. You can play in teams against an opponent, and the table senses the position and movement of your hand to let you "scoop up" little journalists into the question area and then record your selected answers.

1st Floor
On the first (ground) floor, the east wing of the building hosts Pulitzer Prize-winning photographs. What I didn't expect (but should have) was how powerful these pictures are, at least the ones accompanied by the backstory and context. 


There's a reason these photographs won the prize, and some of them are disturbing and/or extremely graphic. The ones that are displayed without explanation didn't trigger this kind of reaction in me.


Mezzanine Level
Finally, in a mezzanine level between the ground floor and Councourse is a "4D" theater where they show a short 13-minute film about some historical journalists. Using flimsy 3D glasses and moving seats (the 4th dimension, which feels tacked-on and unconvincing) the film has corny acting but I think gives a sense of why journalism matters.

In other words, in most other parts of the museum, the focus is upon the news subjects or the mechanisms; this film, as cornball as it is, starts to delve into journalism's heart.

The reason I suggest seeing this film last is that you have to catch it at one of the scheduled showings (which run about every 20 minutes). Also, they run a last showing as the rest of the museum closes at 5 pm.

The Changing Exhibits
My main disappointment was that I didn't notice the temporary FBI "G-Men" exhibit until after closing time, especially since you can't tour the FBI itself anymore.


I was able to poke my head in there long enough to see that it had a kind of cool gangsterland vibe, including John Dillinger's death mask. Fortunately, with an annual pass I can go back easily and the exhibit runs through December 2009.

The Newseum Experience
The Newseum staff is very conscious that they are competing against free alternatives and they work hard to provide a welcoming atmosphere. The exhibits that make it really worthwhile are 9/11 and The Pulitzer Prize photographs, but these may be too intense for many. Kids in particular will likely enjoy the television studio, 4D theater, light table game, and maybe the Presidential dogs.

The widescreen theater on the 5th floor can also be engaging depending on the show playing, and the terrace provides a panoramic view of the US Capitol and Pennsylvania Avenue.

The FBI G-Men exhibit that will be resident throughout 2009 will appeal to anyone who has even a passing affection for gangster movies.

Logistics and Getting There
The Newseum is near the Archives-Navy Memorial-Penn Quarter (Yellow-Green Line) and Gallery Place-Chinatown (Red Line) Metro Stations, and is just blocks from Capitol Hill and the National Mall. The day's newspapers from around the world line the sidewalk outside on Pennsylvania Avenue and can be read without going in.

The Newseum exhibits close at 5 pm but the shops remain open until 6 pm, so I wouldn't waste time going through the shops until the end. The Concourse level also has a restaurant run by Wolfgang Puck catering, but I'd already eaten lunch so I only had a fruit tart there and can't really vouch for the food.
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The 44th President's Inauguration

A co-worker mentioned today that he was thinking of taking his sons into Washington DC to see the Presidential Inauguration on January 20th. As much as I'd like to witness such an historic event, if the estimates of up to 4 million attendees are in the right ballpark (even though there are only 240,000 formal tickets), it will be absolutely crazy downtown.

For perspective, consider these numbers:

• The resident population of DC is about 570,000.
• On a normal workday, commuters from the suburbs bring this number up to about 1 million people.
• Tourists probably add another 200,000 to 400,000 a day depending on the season.
• DC's Metro system, usually the best way to get around, only handles about 700,000 people on a normal workday.
• Washington DC and the closest counties in MD and VA have about 5 million people.

In short, the public transportation system, streets, restaurants, toilets, and all other essential services in DC are going to be overwhelmed on Inauguration Day as the normal population quadruples, even if most federal workers have the day off.

Other Considerations

January is often bitterly cold as well, if not snowbound, and they'll be closing off major sections of the city to traffic, making a normally convoluted street grid highly unpredictable.

Speaking from experience, I've been on the National Mall for the Fourth of July with an estimated crowd of 1 million, and it severely strained the capacity of the system. What's especially bad is when everyone tries to leave at the same time after the event is over.

At least the Monday preceding Inauguration Day is also a federal holiday (Martin Luther King's Birthday) which should ease congestion a little bit.

If You Decide To Go

With all of that said, there's still a part of me that would love to go, so I can understand the excitement. And nobody will really know how many attend until the day of the event so it could be a lot less.

For those who plan to make the trip, I'd highly advise that you read the Washington Post's Inauguration Watch coverage (the FAQs provide a good round-up of important information) or DC's excellent tourism information site. 

Remember that because of heightened security they'll probably not allow a lot of equipment into the Mall area.

Be forewarned though that all of the usual methods of navigating around town will likely be greatly altered by the crush of people and the new traffic patterns, so some of the information may not apply (and that includes the bathroom guide; Porta-Potties may be your friend here).

Update 1/02/09: The latest estimates call for closer to half the original numbers, but planners are preparing for the worst case eventuality. Greenbelt's Metro Station will be closed to cars so that buses can park there, and some highways will also be closed and used for charter bus parking.

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Vote!

Tuesday, November 4th is Election Day in the United States, so go out and vote.

• Voting & Elections (usa.gov)
• Polling Information By State (nass.org)

This year, Maryland has a proposal on the ballot to allow early voting as much as 2 weeks ahead of an election. I've read that in some states where early voting is already in place, very large numbers have voted already (including 46% of the eligible voters in Colorado!).

Update (Tuesday 6:30 PM): I had a meeting in DC this morning so I wasn't able to vote before work, when I'm told there were extremely long lines. So I went to the polling station this evening with iPhone in hand, prepared for a lengthy wait. Instead, it took 5 minutes total -- most of it spent getting the electronic card for the touchscreen machine. I think it took longer for me to walk in from the parking lot.

(12:30 AM) I just listened to the two gracious, unifying speeches from John McCain and Barack Obama. CNN's final map shows Obama with 365 electoral votes to McCain's 173.

In Maryland, both the early voting and slots initiatives passed.

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