Strangemaps has two nice ones up showing the breakdown of the US election by state and by county. It’s interesting that most, but not all, of the counties in Texas that went for Obama were those along the Mexican border: the Republicans are now targetting Latino voters.

I’m sure that in years to come I will kick myself for not being up and watching when he won the election. We’ll just have to see how well he does over the four years from when he takes over in January.

I’m happy he won the popular vote as well as the electoral college vote, because it means he has a wider mandate and that he has transcended racial boundaries to a good extent. His policies and attitudes toward the likes of Pakistan and Afghanistan could be a problem, but only time will tell. It will also be interesting to see if there is some return to the civil freedoms that existed before the Bush administration.

If he can roll back some of the restrictions that the Patriot Act introduced then he will have made some serious progress — and he has the parliamentary support to do it. I just hope he doesn’t preside over an equally reactionary and oppressive regime. He has a great many minds to change and hearts to soften all over the world. Fingers crossed he can do it.

I think this was on the television as I left the office, but it’s a nice little detail nonetheless, and brings home the hint of change in the air after eight years of George W Bush:

In keeping with tradition, voting began at the stroke of midnight in a handful of remote towns in the north-eastern state of New Hampshire.

The residents of Dixville Notch have been meeting in the town’s ballot room at midnight each election day since 1960.

Mr Obama won the town’s poll by 15 votes to six for Mr McCain – a landslide victory after more than 40 years of Republican loyalty.