Election special

> David Dimbleby kicks off the Beeb's US Election Night programme by telling us that it's the voters that count.

> The citizens of the town of Obama in Japan are counting on an Obama victory.

> This is me jive-blogging election night - or an hour or two of it anyway - and that wasn't a typo.

> Jive-blogging the live-blogging: check out Alex.

> 12.20am More than one commentator, including John Zogby, has been heard to endorse the conclusion reached at normblog on October 9: that once the economic crisis broke it was over for John McCain.

> 12.25am Christopher Hitchens on the Beeb's programme: 'the wrong year for the Republican Party to be attacking socialism'.

> 12.42am Vermont is projected for Obama, Kentucky for McCain; Fox has called West Virginia for McCain.

> 1.03am South Carolina for McCain; Pennsylvania and New Hampshire for Obama.

> 1.08am It's over, say the experts.

> 1.23am More election day pics.

> 1.58am 'It's two minutes to nine in... wherever we are,' says David Dimbleby. I agree, this jive-blogging is a job for a younger person than I am.

> 2.05am Fox have called Ohio for Obama, and it's sleep-blogging for me for the rest of the night. During which time, we are assured, Obama's victory margin will increase.