Live Blogging: McCain in, Clinton Ahead — Will Her Campaign News Pundits and Pollsters Live Free or Die in N.H.?

By SteveK 

11:00: The Obama speech ends. We’re going to continue the live blogging here for awhile, so hang out.

• Clinton call times — NBC/MSNBC- 10:32; CBS-10:33; ABC- 10:46; CNN- 10:46; FNC- 10:47

10:53: From what we mentioned earlier, here is the YouTube clip of some MSNBC chuckling at Sen. John McCain’s expense.

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10:51: The actual times were 10:46 for CNN and 10:47 for FNC in calling the win for Clinton. Has to be a big win, though, for MSNBC as they called it right at 10:32.

10:48: As Obama concedes, both FNC and CNN project Clinton the victor. FNC is flashing the fireworks graphic underneath the Obama concession speech. Rough.

10:47: After a short interview on FNC with McAuliffe, all three networks take the Obama speech.

10:45: After Wallace’s report, total silence on FNC. Then: “Presumably we’re going to hear something here, right? Presumably we have some tape that’s going to roll here right?” asks Brit Hume. Wallace responds, “You talkin’ to me?”

10:44: Chris Wallace mentions Major Garrett’s big story today about the campaign shakeup. “It looks now like it may be a fairly comfortable win for Clinton, but they sure weren’t thinking that at about four or five o’clock this afternoon,” Wallace says.

10:42: Suzanne Malveaux on CNN is a little disgruntled, as probably is the rest of Obama HQ where she’s located. She can’t hear Wolf Blitzer introduce her, but after a few seconds the crowd quiets and she can hear.

10:41: Andrea Mitchell has McAuliffe at Clinton HQ. He’ll probably be on a couple networks throughout the night.

10:39: Olbermann on MSNBC, “We should wait for all the headlines.” FNC and CNN still have not made the call.

10:36: Tom Brokaw on MSNBC says, “Invest in the Suffolk University poll,” to Matthews. Matthews says it was a Republican poll, but Brokaw says it was both.

10:32: MSNBC calls the NH Dem. primary for Clinton. CNN and FNC report the news sourcing the AP, but do not call it themselves.

10:32: CNN chyron: “Still no votes in from college towns of Hanover and Durham.” Does anyone know when Hanover and Durham votes are tallied??

10:29: MSNBC goes to Brian Williams and Tim Russert in New Hampshire. “That’s the only way it can be reported, it’s a big night for Hillary Clinton,” says Russert.

10:26: Olbermann can’t wait to talk about James Denton, who apparently plays Mike the Plumber on Desperate Housewives. “Anybody on the panel watch Desperate Housewives? Well I’ve seen it,” says Olbermann. “I do like Teri Hatcher,” chimes in Matthews. Is this what happens when coverage starts at 6pmET and not 8pmET?

10:25: Edwards speech winding down. CSPAN took the live speech as well. Brit Hume says, “That boy’s not getting out, is he?”

10:18: A nice triple-network ad for GM, as “This is Our Country” by John Mellencamp (GM’s commercial theme song, and apparently Edwards) plays for more than a minute as Edwards takes a long walk to the stage to speak.

10:15: CNN and MSNBC take the John Edwards speech from the beginning. FNC comes in one minute later. Elizabeth Edwards is still introducing her husband.

10:13: Brit Hume asks Brian Wilson to “bring us some wings, will you?” Back to Major Garrett, who talked to senior Obama campaign heads: “Hanover, Hanover, Hanover. Hanover, New Hampshire.” Apparently, Hanover is going to be closely watched.

10:10: Well this is different. Brian Wilson is on FNC in the Election Link at a sports bar in Manchester, NH. “The real sport in the town tonight is the election,” he says. All the patrons are rooting for Obama. Must be an Obama-bar.

10:09: Lee Cowan on MSNBC pegs Obama’s hopes on Hanover, NH, speaking from Obama HQ.

10:06: Sorry that was Abbi Tatton working the CNN I-Report board. Now John King stands near his touchscreen map of New Hampshire.

10:01: A tipster: “Was MSNBC perhaps a bit too harsh on McCain’s speech?”

9:57: Soledad O’Brien seems to be putting together a puzzle of CNN I-Reports on the big touchscreen.

9:56: FNC goes to their first commercial break of the night. The second commercial is a Rudy Guiliani campaign ad, which plays while the primary results still stream on the bottom of the screen.

9:52: Anderson Cooper on CNN, word for word, about John McCain: “Not the best speaker out there. Certainly he reads, he doesn’t like tele-prompters, he reads from, from, you know, paper, written, stuff written on a page, but, but, he is real.” Sorry Anderson, had to do it.

9:51: Bill Bennett on CNN said, “Remember John McCain is 71 years old. He can’t comb his hair.” What?

9:49: FNC’s Martha McCallum goes through the Blog Buzz, citing Townhall.com that said the election has been nothing but, “humbling for the pundits.”

9:47: CNN checks in at Rep. Ron Paul‘s HQ. They’re the only network to check in.

9:43: FNC’s Chris Wallace goes Bill O’Reilly in describing the body language of Terry McAuliffe earlier today during his interview with the Clinton campaign staffer.

9:40: Keith Olbermann looks to camera and delivers “apology” to McCain. More laughter over the speech.

9:37: Chris Matthews and crew on MSNBC still cracking up over McCain’s scripted victory speech.

9:35: Major Garrett at Obama HQ on FNC. No mention of what a Clinton win would do to his big scoop from today about the Clinton campaign adding CNN’s Paul Begala and James Carville.

9:31: FNC’s Bill Kristol says the latest exit poll (not actual stats) says that Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama are tied. FNC then shows exit poll stats and it’s Clinton 39%, Obama 37%.

9:28: CNN’s Gloria Borger cools the jets on the Sen. Hillary Clinton possible victory tonight. She says the college towns have yet to report.

9:26: MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough wasn’t a fan of the McCain speech: “If this is your introduction to America in 2008, do not have your head looking straight down into a speech.”

9:19: David Wright on ABC says the headline of the night may be “The Empire Strikes Back.” Nice reference…

9:15: Gibson thinks the polling is “too good” now. Dismayed that there aren’t enough “surprises.” Stephanopolous reminds him that no poll showed Clinton so close to Obama in New Hampshire.

9:13: FNC gets rid of all the chyrons and has a huge “Sen. John McCain Wins” chyron with fireworks exploding. A little odd.

9:12: ABC breaks in to show the McCain speech.

9:11: Three cable networks take Sen. John McCain speech (a lot of flags and camera phones waving in the camera shot).

9:10: On MSNBC, Tom Brokaw handicaps the GOP race. Huckabee still very much in, Guiliani may be out. Apparently this is all “breaking news” now on MSNBC, as they’ve added that to the chyron.

9:07: Brit Hume gets a kick out of the camera phones in the camera view at the Huckabee speech. “As it got on, he wanted to get some good shots, so he did,” he chuckles.

9:03: ABC going live with Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopolous. No Huckabee speech coverage.

9:01: Mike Huckabee crowd is boisterous. Signs and camera phones keep blocking shot of Huckabee at podium during speech.

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