A slow drizzle has been falling since midday, and the temperature has plummeted. Infinitely more important, the early election returns are not all that the ultraconfident Bushies hoped they would be. Each Gore victory, announced by CNN and projected onto the JumboTron screen towering above the party in front of the Texas capitol, is met with silence by the mass of supporters here. A roar goes up from the revelers, and the crowd cheers as conservatives take to the airwaves to smugly bitch about the earlier call. Adjacent to the street party, in the temporary trailer park set up to house the networks' operations, media folks huddle around their computers and TV screens, searching for some clue as to how this evening will end.
People chew their nails and pace the room.
One woman actually begins to weep from the stress. But, down in the party zone, the crowd rocks on. The beer and wine flow freely as Bush supporters, oblivious to the cold and the rain, dance to the live bands that troop across the stage. Derek gives another highly articulate, deeply felt pitch for Bush, and then Newton asks the crowd to bow its head and ask God to make George W. president. Apparently, the beer and the rain have begun to chip away at the crowd's good manners.